Free Broadband Pledged to Help Digital Exclusion in N.Ireland

The Department for Communities in Northern Ireland has launched a new fund, which among other things has been designed to help support the provision of “free broadband” to help “those facing digital exclusion as a barrier to work.”

According to the announcement, the broadband support package will be available to eligible jobseekers through the Department for Communities’ existing Adviser Discretion Fund (ADF), which is a grant fund that was setup to help remove common barriers to employment that prevent people from moving towards and into employment.

The fund, which is typically made available through a Work Coach at your local ‘Jobs and Benefits‘ office in Northern Ireland, usually provides a non-repayable grant of up to £1,500 (in a 12-month period). The grant is normally intended to help cover things like the cost of travelling to work, training for a new job and childcare etc. But until now it didn’t specifically mention broadband.

Deirdre Hargey, Communities Minister, said:

“Digital exclusion has been one of the inequalities thrown into sharper focus by the Covid-19 pandemic.

More than ever, employers are posting vacancies online, with many having moved to online interviewing and more positions requiring people to work from home.

Therefore, not having access to broadband can be a significant barrier to searching for, or moving into, employment.

I am tackling this by providing free broadband support which will provide broadband for eligible jobseekers who do not currently have the service.”

The announcement states that “support for broadband through the [ADF] is available for a period of six months,” although it’s not clear whether this reflects availability of the fund for use with broadband ISP connectivity, or the length of time that you can use the fund to cover any costs incurred by a broadband subscription. We assume it’s the former, as that makes more sense.

The total of £1,500 is more than enough to cover the cost of a good broadband connection for a couple of years, although that is the maximum you can claim, and the ADF is of course intended to cover more than just broadband provision.