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19:44 12th January 2010
A government programme which will provide laptops to studets from poor backgrounds is a "step toward bridging the digital divide", said Rhian Beynon, head of policy and campaigns at Family Action.
The scheme will provide laptops and broadband connection to 127,000 families across England.
But Ms Beynon said that she feared the initiative will not help the most disadvantaged families in the long term.
She quoted figures from Ofcom dating from 2008 which showed 12 per cent of homes in Britain have no landline and rely on mobile telephones. But that number increases by up to 28 per cent in low income urban areas such as Greater Manchester, Birmingham and the north-east, Ms Beynon added.
"This is because not only do people on the lowest incomes not have the money for broadband connections and line rental – they also do not have mainstream bank accounts that facilitate the direct debits which telecoms and other utilities companies require," she said.
Written by James Davis
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