The Government is focused on building a world-leading digital economy that works for everyone. DCMS is responsible for coordinating HMG digital inclusion policy, and aims to ensure that as many people as possible, no matter their age, have a base level of digital skills, as well as internet access.

The cross-cutting nature of digital inclusion means that relevant policies and levers sit across multiple government departments. Rather than setting out a standalone strategy for digital inclusion, DCMS works with the rest of government to ensure departments take digitally excluded people into consideration when delivering public services.

To improve access to digital skills, the government has introduced a digital entitlement for adults with no or low digital skills. This allows older people wishing to acquire essential digital skills to gain specified digital qualifications, up to level 1, free of charge. Essential Digital Skills Qualifications (EDSQs), introduced alongside the digital entitlement, are based on new national standards which set out the digital skills people need to get on in life and work. We also support the provision of essential digital skills training in community settings through the Adult Education Budget.

Public libraries play an important role in tackling digital exclusion. Around 2,900 public libraries in England provide a trusted network of accessible locations with staff, volunteers, free wifi, public PCs, and assisted digital access to a wide range of digital services. Volunteers and library staff have been trained in digital skills so that they can provide library users with support in using digital applications and services.

Under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964, it falls to local authorities to deliver a comprehensive and efficient library provision that meets local needs. It is not for the department to require the precise provision of library services. The provision of portable devices to lend is something library services are increasingly delivering. We know that at least a quarter of library services in England already provide portable electronic devices for loan, generally targeted at those more likely to be digitally disadvantaged.

Help is available for low income households to access broadband, mobile and landline services. A range of low-cost social tariffs are available to those on Universal Credit, and a number specifically include individuals on Pension Credit. These tariffs are available to eligible households in 99% of the UK. Ofcom, the independent regulator, has a statutory duty to review the affordability of telecommunication services, and we continue to work closely with Ofcom to monitor the market.

We understand that some older people are also hesitant to access online services because they fear that they may become victims of fraud, or that it is an unsafe environment for their personal data. For this reason, we are taking a number of steps to improve the safety and trustworthiness of the online space, including:

• Increasing online safety by introducing the Online Safety Bill to Parliament, which sets new rules for firms which host user-generated content, and focuses on protecting people from online scams.

• Enabling the widespread use of secure and accessible digital identity solutions that meet the needs of all those who wish to use them, by setting standards, establishing governance, removing legislative blockers, and engaging with industry and civil society groups.

There are currently no plans to introduce an e-cycle scheme for IT equipment, or commission an app for older people. We are aware that for older people with disabilities, poor design of apps or websites can be a significant barrier to online access. The Central Digital and Data Office monitors compliance with the regulations for the accessibility of public sector websites. Charities such as Age UK and AbilityNet play an important role in assisting people with access to technology and the internet.

Decisions around staff allocation are made by the National Health Service at a local level, according to need and local plans.

Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes that can have life-long impacts on victims and survivors. This Government is committed to ensuring that every victim of rape and sexual assault will have access to quality support, appropriate to their needs, when they need it. This includes an increase to spending £185m per year on victim and witness services by 2025. As part of this funding picture, for the very first time, the Government is establishing a remote, national 24/7 Sexual Violence Support Service. This will be a free support service to victims aged 16 and over across England and Wales, operating 24 hours a day, 365 days per year delivered through a website, webchat function, online resources, and telephone helpline.

The Task and Finish Group on taxi and Private Hire Vehicles licensing set up in 2017 considered the impact of new technology on the sector including in respect of out-of-area working. As set out in the Report by the Chair of the Group, the recommendation to address out-of-area working was one of the areas on which it was not possible to reach a consensus. The Government, in its 2019 response, agreed to consider the recommendation further.

The Department for Transport has considered in detail options to restrict out-of-area working by taxis and private hire vehicles in England. Engagement with the sector and regulators evidenced that there are a wide range of differing views and a lack of agreement on how the negative aspects caused by out-of-area working might be best addressed; many approaches having detrimental impacts for drivers, businesses, and ultimately passengers, along with congestion and air quality. The safety of passengers, including women and girls, was one of the issues considered, and there were particular concerns that restrictions on the availability of taxis and private hire vehicles may impact adversely on passenger safety by increasing the use of unlicensed, unvetted and uninsured drivers and vehicles. Following this engagement with the sector, the Government concluded that it would not, at this time, take forward out-of-area restrictions.

Everyone has the right to feel safe when travelling and using public spaces. The Department for Transport is working closely with Home Office on the Government’s cross-departmental strategy to address Violence Against Women and Girls. The Department’s first Women’s Safety Champions are engaging with campaign groups, industry and Government to understand areas for improvement across the UK’s transport network. They will shortly produce independent recommendations for the Department and wider transport network on what best practice should be adopted to improve safety of the transport network for women and girls.

No formal assessment has been made on the likely impact of vaccine or test certification on vaccine uptake. The purpose of introducing mandatory certification as a condition of entry to certain settings is to reduce infections and reduce infections that result in serious illness or hospitalisation. Overall, introducing vaccine or test certification will help reduce risks in these settings when compared with no intervention.

There is a high level of uncertainty about the effectiveness of vaccination against infection or transmission of the Omicron variant. We know that vaccination helps protect against serious illness and hospitalisation in the case of the Delta variant, which continues to circulate. Overall, introducing vaccine or test certification will help reduce risks in these settings when compared with no intervention. However, it will not eliminate the possibility of infectious people attending or transmitting the virus in these settings so individuals should continue to exercise caution.

NHS Test and Trace has built in flexibility within its contracts to adjust capacity which includes surge testing through mobile testing units; door-to-door testing, increasing supplies of test kits; increased laboratory processing capacity; enhanced contact tracing; walk in vaccine clinics; and increased communications to drive vaccine uptake.

We have provided local authority public health teams with additional funding through the Contain Outbreak Management Fund to support their local efforts in managing COVID-19 transmission and outbreaks to deliver interventions such as targeted testing for hard-to-reach groups; additional contact tracing; enhanced communication and marketing; and additional support for compliance and enforcement. We expect local authority Chief Executives to work in coordination with the Director of Public Health to determine the necessary activities.

It is possible that whilst in their nursery, school or college, pupils or staff could receive a notification via the NHS COVID-19 app that they have been in close contact with a confirmed case and should self-isolate. Close contacts are likely to have taken place at least 1-2 days previously. The app uses the minimum amount of personal data possible, which means it will not know if that contact took place in a nursery, school or college.

The Department recommends that schools advise all of their pupils, in particular those who are under 18, to inform a member of staff if they receive a notification during the day that they had been in contact with a positive case. The notification will advise them that if they are under the age of 18, they should show the message to a trusted adult and self-isolate. The staff member should then follow the school’s agreed process for handling individuals identified as a close contact, including making appropriate arrangements for the pupil to leave the school at the earliest opportunity to begin self-isolation.

If a staff member receives this notification, they should also follow the usual process of informing an appropriate person at the school before self-isolating. Schools will want to consider what action they would need to take if a number of staff members were informed at the same time that they had been in close contact with a positive case, to ensure continuity of education or childcare.

The NHS COVID-19 app complements, rather than replaces, existing contact tracing processes and can be downloaded by anyone aged 16 or over.

From Step 4 of the roadmap, close contacts will be identified directly by NHS Test and Trace. Nurseries, schools and colleges will no longer be expected undertake routine contact tracing. The NHS COVID-19 app will continue to play an important role in contact tracing, by increasing its speed, reach and precision. It is able to quickly identify and notify users if they come into contact with somebody who later tests positive for COVID-19.

The app and its use are advisory, and it is up to an individual’s discretion if and how they use the app. The Department recommends that people follow its advice to help break chains of transmission and to protect others from COVID-19.

From 16 August, in line with fully vaccinated adults, under-18s identified as close contacts will not need to self-isolate and instead will be advised to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. The NHS COVID-19 app will be updated to reflect this new policy in England.

The Department will update its guidance shortly on how the NHS COVID-19 app should be used in nurseries, schools and colleges.

NHS Test and Trace has always been a partnership between local and national Government. Since August, NHS Test and Trace has provided local authorities with dedicated team of contact tracers to work alongside local public health officials to provide a more specialist service. Local public health officials can use the data provided by NHS Test and Trace to follow up with cases, which in some areas has involved local teams and voluntary partners visiting people at home.

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The National Health Service COVID-19 contact tracing app is part of the wider NHS Test and Trace system, which ensures that there are multiple ways to access testing and contact tracing services. Anyone who has symptoms that are consistent with COVID-19, whether or not they are an app user, will be able to report symptoms and get a test to find out if they have the virus.

Any data that app users have chosen to share with the National Health Service may be retained for research in the public interest, or by the NHS for planning and delivering services. This is in line with the law and subject to all the necessary approvals required by law. We have published a Data Protection Impact Assessment and a Privacy Notice that specify how the data collected via the app will be used and for what purposes.

Companies working with the NHS are bound by robust contract and data processing agreements that specify how and when the data must be stored, secured, used and destroyed. Private commercial companies do not have access to personally identifiable data.

Existing law and National Health Service standards set out a framework of protective measures to ensure the NHS COVID-19 app meets the level required to keep data secure.

We have worked closely with the National Cyber Security Centre throughout the development of the app to ensure its security. For example, we have published the app’s source code, allowing security experts from across the world to scrutinise the app and to recommend improvements for us to implement. This is in addition to the continual monitoring, review and oversight that is undertaken by the Department and NHS.

The purpose of the Isle of Wight phase is to understand the effectiveness of the Test and Trace programme ahead of the full roll-out to the rest of the United Kingdom and to improve the user experience of the National Health Service COVID-19 app.

We have worked quickly to build the NHS COVID-19 app because that is what the situation demands. But we have not let that urgency compromise our commitment to transparency, ethics and the law. We are also taking technical assurance very seriously, with an independent ethics advisory board ensuring that the NHS COVID-19 app we deliver will be stable, resilient, secure, performant, highly usable and above all effective in the fight against COVID-19.