Free laptops scheme to tackle digital exclusion

The project will launch in Leeds first before being expanded to other parts of West Yorkshire

Free laptops, wi-fi and digital skills training will be offered to people in West Yorkshire to try to tackle unemployment.

Currently 20% of the working age population in the county do not have the digital skills needed to secure a job, according to West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

The project, funded by £250,000 from the Department of Work and Pensions, will be launched in Leeds first before similar schemes are rolled out in Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield.

Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin said the project would help people "find good jobs, access training, manage their health and connect with the essential online services that make everyday life easier".

The initiative was launched at Gipton Supported Independent Living (GIPSIL) in East Leeds, which helps people to find work.

GIPSIL will be one of the Leeds-based organisations providing the devices, data and digital skills.

During a visit to GIPSIL, Brabin met Peter Munonyedi, 45, who the organisation had helped.

Peter Munonyedi had a brain haemorrhage three years ago and said GIPSIL had supported him

Mr Munonyedi was a social worker in 2022 when he had a brain haemorrhage, which changed his life.

He said he continued to face daily challenges.

"I wanted to get back to my own self, which meant recovering everything I'd lost - my physical mobility and my dreams," he said.

"My cognitive functioning was lower and I was constantly forgetting appointments."

GIPSIL provided him with a smart speaker he could use to register all of his appointments and if he had a fall he could use it to call for help.

The organisation also provided him with a laptop, which he could use to renew his social work registration and complete online training and courses.

Brabin pledged to help guarantee a "healthy working life" to everyone in the region and said she had worked with NHS leaders to join up health and employment services in the region.

"Too many people in West Yorkshire are locked out of opportunity because they can't get online or don't have the skills they need to confidently use the internet," she said.

"That isn't fair on people and isn't healthy for our economy."

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