L

Lord Cashman (Non-Afl)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 2 December 2025

Debate

Public Services: Online Communications

Contribution

My Lords, I thank the Minister for the reply, but the reality, I am afraid, is very different. The negative effects on vulnerable people and people with learning difficulties accessing services online is deeply problematic. Many do not have access to the internet. Some cannot read or write. Others simply do not have capacity to deal with online programmes and apps. Many are isolated, in poor health and desperately in need of support, yet cannot get it because of these online obstacles. Will the Government improve online access for these people and others, and make it easily and widely available? Will they adopt more voice messaging and voice prompts, as well as simple-to-use spoken menu options and, indeed, dare I say, the option to speak to a human being? These issues of online access must be addressed if we are to tackle the hopelessness that is growing around access to public services, and particularly access to services within the NHS.

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