On 17 July 2026, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology published two open letters asking business leaders and financial services firms to work with government on making essential digital services easier to use, more accessible and less exclusionary. The publication frames digital channels as part of everyday participation in the economy, covering tasks such as managing money, paying bills and accessing transport or news. (gov.uk) The immediate policy message is that accessibility is being treated as a service-design issue across major sectors, rather than a narrow compliance exercise. In both letters, ministers describe poorly designed digital routes as a risk to trust and participation, not simply an inconvenience for a small group of users. (gov.uk)
DSIT’s case rests on a familiar but important distinction. The letters say many people are online in a technical sense but still struggle to complete tasks online: around 27% of UK adults are described as "narrow internet users" and around 43% ask someone else to do something for them online. The department argues that difficult design, inconsistent service routes and weak support options are pushing some people away from services altogether. (gov.uk) That argument sits within a broader inclusion programme. In the March 2026 progress report on the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, government said 1.6 million people still had no internet connection at all and that many more lacked the right device, skills or confidence to participate fully online. (gov.uk)
The letters stop short of announcing a new legal duty. Instead, they ask firms to work with DSIT on three practical steps: defining the problem more clearly, agreeing what good practice looks like, and building a cross-sector roadmap for adoption. In the wider industry letter, ministers describe this as a voluntary, standards-led approach; in the financial services version, the language is slightly broader but still centres on voluntary collaboration. (gov.uk) The test set out by government is straightforward. Services should be easy to use and understand, designed around disabled people and others at risk of digital exclusion, and built so that privacy, safety and security controls do not add unnecessary complexity for users. (gov.uk)
The financial services version is notable because it recognises existing work rather than starting from a blank page. DSIT says banks and other financial firms are already investing in inclusive design, accessibility testing, clearer service routes and better support for customers with complex needs and vulnerabilities. The letter adds that many organisations in the sector are increasingly seen as leading practice. (gov.uk) That matters for the wider policy direction. A ministerial summary updated on 14 July 2026 identified financial services, alongside health, employment support, education and future digital identity services, as one of the main routes through which people can be helped to get online and use digital services safely and confidently. (gov.uk)
The letters also fit a longer policy sequence rather than a standalone intervention. The Digital Inclusion Action Plan, published in February 2025, was described as the first UK government plan on digital inclusion for a decade. It set out a model based on access, skills, support and confidence, with simpler online services and workable offline options included in service design from the outset. (gov.uk) Government has also been testing a partnership model. In March 2026, DSIT said industry pledges linked to the action plan had helped over 1 million people get better connections, cheaper rates, devices or local support, while more than 22,000 devices had been donated. The same progress reporting said 800 responses had been received to the call for evidence and that a 35-member Digital Inclusion Action Committee had been set up to scrutinise the next phase. (gov.uk)
There is also a clearer standards discussion behind the new correspondence. In the original action plan, government said it was proposing that industry partners meet minimum Web Content Accessibility Guidelines level AA requirements for public-facing platforms, including services obtained from third parties, and later publish research on how those services meet a new inclusive digital services standard once agreed. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) The same document explains why ministers are pressing this point. It says website owners are already required to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act, but that formal monitoring is limited and that the present legal position addresses accessibility more directly than wider inclusivity. Separate government-commissioned research published in July 2025 was intended to improve understanding of the barriers disabled people face across private-sector customer routes, including digital services. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
For businesses, the practical effect is not a new rulebook yet, but a stronger expectation of demonstrable progress. Firms operating essential digital services should expect more attention on end-to-end usability, support when transactions fail, and whether authentication, security or outsourced steps create barriers for disabled users or people with low digital confidence. That is an inference from the letters and the wider action plan, rather than a new statutory test announced on 17 July 2026. (gov.uk) The letters also set out an escalation path. The industry version states that government will keep under review whether further intervention is needed if progress is not delivered at the pace required. Taken together, the latest correspondence points to an early standards-setting phase in which voluntary cooperation is preferred, but not presented as the only option available to ministers. (gov.uk)