Warrington a top online town!

WARRINGTON and neighbouring Halton have one of the largest online communities in the North West.
New statistics show that people in the two boroughs are well placed to get the most from the digital world, with 87 per cent of the adult population saying they have used the internet – around 290,000 people.
The figures, released by the Office for National Statistics, show that Warrington and Halton has one of the highest rates in the North West for online access.
In comparison approximately 78 per cent of people in Sefton have ever used the internet, while only 82 per cent of adults in East Merseyside have gone online.
Nationally Brighton and Hove has the highest percentage nationally of adults who have used the internet at 95 per cent. Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees have the lowest rates at 78 per cent.
The latest figures also show that more people on lower earnings are going online. Some 94 per cent of adults earning less than £200 a week have now been online, compared to 91 per cent two years ago.
Single people are more likely to have been online than people who are married or in a civil partnership – the difference is almost 9 per cent.
Many government services – including the new Universal Credit – will be accessed and managed online.
Universal Credit went live in parts of Greater Manchester and Cheshire from April. It replaces the six main out of work benefits with one monthly payment and is claimed online.
Online access will be increasingly important for government services in future.
The government’s aim is to provide digital services that are so straightforward and convenient that all those who can use them will choose to do so, while those who can’t are not excluded.
However while the figures show a significant number of people going online in Warrington and Halton, there remain some who currently struggle to use the internet.
Helen Milner, chief executive of UK Online Centres, said: “There are still millions of people that are either not online or who don’t have the skills to take advantage of all the internet can offer – including being able to claim benefits online.
The nearest UK Online centre can be found by calling 0800 77 1234 or by visiting www.ukonlinecentres.com/centresearch
For more information on Universal Credit visit www.gov.uk/universalcredit

* Launched in April 1999 at the former Business Connections event, warrington-worldwide was the first stand alone independent daily online newspaper in mainland Britain.