Vale of Glamorgan tablet loan scheme leads Wales a step closer to digital inclusion

With 170,000 people in Wales (7% of the population) not using the internet, there are still too many people missing out on digital opportunities – but the Vale of Glamorgan’s tablet loan scheme is taking the initiative to get Wales online.

The Vale of Glamorgan is known for its rolling countryside, coastal communities and rural villages, as well as Wales’s largest town, Barry.

Rural areas are particularly at risk from loneliness and isolation, which made the Vale the ideal location to launch the tablet loan scheme.

Digital inclusion can help individuals seek, secure, and sustain employment, access health and other public services, reduce loneliness and isolation, and improve wellbeing.

Sometimes digital exclusion is due to lack of confidence and knowledge.

Sometimes it’s due to the inability to access equipment or the internet.

The Vale of Glamorgan’s tablet loan scheme, working with Digital Champions, is tackling these challenges by supporting residents to access equipment, gain digital skills and to get online with confidence.

The Digital Champions are dedicated volunteers who foster a sense of community and share their digital experience, while the iPads come pre-loaded with apps and local information, as well as a free SIM card.

The initiative is thanks to a partnership between Cwmpas and its delivery team Digital Communities Wales, the Vale of Glamorgan Council, and a network of supportive organisations in the Get the Vale Online partnership.

Jocelle Lovell, Director of Inclusive Communities at Cwmpas, said:

“As more and more vital public services are being delivered online, the Digital Communities Wales team at Cwmpas and our partners are working hard to make sure everyone in Wales has the option to be online. Digital inclusion means having the skills, support, and confidence to get online and engage safely, as well as access to digital equipment and data. In this day and age, no-one should be left behind.

“Thanks to this fantastic initiative, residents of the Vale of Glamorgan can now borrow an iPad in the same way that they can borrow a book, and gain digital knowhow from real life Digital Champions. It is fantastic to see this initiative underway.”