Get Oldham Working secures funding to tackle digital exclusion across Oldham

Oldham Council has landed £266,084 from the national Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to run a new programme called GOW Digital, aimed at getting residents online and keeping them there. The money will pay for two fixed hubs in the town centre, a van that sets up in neighbourhood venues, and 400 laptops that learners can take home once they finish basic courses.

The mobile hub will rotate between Access Oldham, SAWN, the Millennium Centre, Fatima Women's Association, Werneth and Freehold Community Development, and Oasis Academy, so people who can't reach Spindles or Union Street still get hands-on help. Each stop will offer starter sessions on everything from setting up an email address to using NHS online, plus drop-in Digital Cafés where volunteers troubleshoot on the spot.

Alongside the classes, the council will train 30 Digital Champions. After six sessions, each champion keeps a tablet and is expected to run peer support in their own estate or group. Organisers hope this creates a layer of neighbours helping neighbours rather than relying solely on council staff.

More than 400 laptops are earmarked for participants who stick with the learning plan, a deliberate move to give households a device of their own and prevent the 'course finished, access lost' cycle common in earlier schemes. The laptops come loaded with basic security software and links to council services, so users can practise safely at home.

Councillor Abdul Jabbar says the programme is a response to the quiet reality that people without digital access struggle to book GP appointments, claim benefits or apply for jobs. Whether the new kit and volunteer network can close that gap for good will depend on how many residents step forward and how long the council keeps the mobile calendar running.