The challenge of digital exclusion is not a new one. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic – and subsequent school closures – shone a spotlight on the importance of digital inclusion for children and young people across the United Kingdom.

This joint report, from Carnegie UK Trust and the UK Committee for UNICEF sets out why and how the UK government should continue its work to close the digital divide. Through exploring the pre-COVID-19 context, analysing and assessing the emergency response during the pandemic, proposing a definition and measurement for digital inclusion, and setting out a 10-point action plan for ending digital exclusion, this report comprehensively sets out how to close the digital divide for all, and for good.