Reducing economic inactivity and welfare dependency for Local Authority residents

Councils face a huge funding gap and rising demand, yet must meet outcome targets. The residents most in need – long-term unemployed, socially isolated, and heavy users of welfare support – are also digitally excluded, worsening every other inequality and limiting councils’ ability to improve outcomes.

We help councils by designing and running tailored digital skills and employment-readiness programmes, reaching hardest-to-engage residents, and handle outcomes reporting so you meet commissioning obligations without new internal capacity.

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The Challenges Local Authorities Are Facing

1. Budget gaps and limited in-house capacity

Councils face severe budget gaps, with multibillion-pound shortfalls impacting their ability to meet new statutory duties. Financial pressures are the greatest barrier to digital inclusion, cited by 77% of councils.

Only 56% of councils have even one dedicated digital inclusion officer, limiting their ability to develop and deliver effective digital inclusion strategies.

This shortage of resources and staff means councils struggle to provide essential digital skills training, device access, and connectivity support, leaving many residents at risk of digital exclusion and unable to access vital online services.

2. Rising demand and complex needs

Rising demand and increasingly complex needs are placing significant strain on adult social care, housing support, and health services.

Growing unemployment and economic inactivity, combined with digital exclusion, are key factors driving this pressure. Many individuals are unable to access essential online services, which increases reliance on more expensive, face-to-face transactions. Evidence shows that in-person transactions can cost up to 50 times more than their online equivalents, making them far less efficient and sustainable for service providers.

This cost disparity highlights the urgent need to address digital exclusion and promote digital access to reduce overall service delivery costs.

3. Statutory and accountability pressures

Statutory and accountability pressures are increasing as the Get Britain Working Plans, Digital Inclusion Action Plan, and Procurement Act 2023 require councils to achieve and evidence measurable outcomes in employment, skills, and social value.

Councils are expected to demonstrate progress through clear metrics, transparent reporting, and delivery at scale.

However, councils lack the trusted community reach to engage hard-to-reach groups, do not have a specialist workforce with the digital or employment expertise required, and face gaps in their evidence base, making it difficult to meet these statutory mandates and deliver the required outcomes for their local populations.

What We Deliver for Local Authorities

Digital Skills for Employment

Structured programmes developing Essential Digital Skills for residents seeking work, with direct pathway into job applications, online interviews, and in-work digital tools.

Digital Skills for Vulnerable Adults

Targeted outreach and one-to-one support for older residents, people with disabilities, carers, and others facing multiple exclusion barriers.

Migrant and New Community Support

Culturally sensitive digital and employment readiness support helping new residents navigate local services, benefits, and employment pathways.

Our Impact

We’ve delivered measurable impact for Local Authorities around the UK:

670 hours of tailored digital skills training delivered

98% customer satisfaction score

142% increase in digital confidence among supported residents

What Our Client Had to Say

Hearing the success stories of our clients is one of the most rewarding parts of what we do here at We Are Group. We firmly believe that our clients' success is our success, and we are deeply grateful for the trust Kingston Council extends to us.

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