Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member for Enterprise, seeking approval to accept  funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) under the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, to enable the delivery of the Oldham Digital Futures: Scaling Skills, Access, and Opportunity Project.

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Education, Skills and Early Years that sought approval for Oldham Council to formally accept £266,084 awarded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), under the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, thereby enabling the delivery of the Oldham Digital Futures: Scaling Skills, Access, and Opportunity project.

The funding had to be utilised and delivery completed by 31^st March 2026, and it was operated on a payment-by-results and milestone-based schedule, requiring Cabinet approval being due to the financial and operational implications.

The delivery window was extremely limited — from November 2025 to 31^st March 2026 — meaning only 5 months to fully deliver all funded activity. The funding is payment-by-results, requiring Get Oldham Working (GOW) to deliver at risk ahead of receiving the final tranche of grant payment.

Oldham Council had been successful in securing £266,084 through the national Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund. This short-term, high-impact funding enables GOW and partners to deliver a programme addressing digital exclusion across Oldham, including:

• Establishing two fixed digital hubs
• Creating a mobile digital hub for neighbourhood outreach
• Delivering 150 digital inclusion workshops
• Recruiting and training 30 Digital Champions
• Distributing 300+ devices to digitally excluded residents

Despite the tight delivery schedule, this presents a major opportunity to:

a.     Equip residents with essential digital skills

2. Reduce device and data poverty
3. Improve access to online public services
4. Support people closer to the job market
5. Build a longer-term digital inclusion offer for Oldham

In considering the report, the Cabinet noted that the Chair of the Place, Economic Growth and Environment Scrutiny Board had permitted consideration of the submitted report, at this meeting of the Cabinet, under Rule 13 of the Council’s Constitution. The report had not been placed on the Key Decision Document, but it was still possible to give 5 clear days-notice of the report and the proposed decision to be made. Rule 13 allowed that the decision may be made where the permission had been obtained, in writing, from the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Board, of the matter about which the decision is to be made.

Options/Alternatives considered:

Option 1 (preferred Option) was to accept the grant funding.

Option 2 was to decline the funding.

Resolved:

That the Cabinet –

1.    Approves acceptance of the £266,084 DSIT Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund award.

2.    Approves Get Oldam Working (GOW) to deliver the “Oldham Digital Futures” project within DSIT conditions, including the requirement for delivery by 31 March 2026.

3.    Notes the payment-by-results nature of the grant and the requirement for GOW to deliver at risk until DSIT milestone payments are released.

4.    Delegates authority to the Head of Service – Get Oldham Working to manage delivery, reporting, and compliance with DSIT conditions.

5.    Notes the short timeframe and endorse accelerated recruitment, procurement, and neighbourhood engagement to enable delivery.

6.    Notes the actions of the Chair of the Place, Economic Growth and Environment Scrutiny Board, in permitting this report to be considered, at this Cabinet meeting, pursuant to Rule 13 of the Council’s Constitution.