Perhaps I should start by acknowledging the huge amount of work the Welsh Government has done to ensure almost all of us in Wales can access internet facilities and to assure the Minister this is not in any way a condemnation of your efforts in this area.

For all of us, the changing world of communications has altered our lifestyles forever. For most of us, it has been a real and positive change. We can communicate quickly, whether by voice, text or social media, and it's become the norm to walk into a room and to see each and every person staring at a digital screen.

The world of commerce has been quick to exploit these innovations, often to the detriment of all of us. Such manifestations as the closing of the once-familiar high-street banks, and the huge growth of online shopping, leading to the loss of high-street shops and stores, all contribute to the changing tenor and panorama of our high streets. But, for some, often the most vulnerable in our society, this exponential growth in online services has a much greater effect on their lives. Far from giving greater access, it often means limited access or even no access at all.

The impact of this access negativity is most felt in the need to contact relevant authorities or businesses. This necessity for access could be for such essential things as benefits, tax queries, energy facilities—even access to doctors' surgeries and job applications. Local authority and schools notifications are increasingly using digital communications. Schools are also using the internet to facilitate homework, et cetera. This affects those children from poorer families, where digital devices may have to be shared or, worse still, are not available at all.

So, digital isolation is when people find themselves in a position where they can't access the internet or digital media and devices as easily as other people, or even not at all. There are many factors that can affect this inability to connect. It could be that they cannot afford the necessary devices, such as computers, laptops, even smartphones, and, crucially, it can also be a lack of understanding as to how to operate such devices.

Over a third of the people in Wales aged 50 or over do not use online services at all. As mentioned by Mike Hedges, people who do not use digital technology, especially the elderly, are increasingly missing out on benefits and financial savings as a result of their continued use of traditional methods of banking and commerce. Research suggests that older people are paying a high price for not participating in digital services. It has been calculated that offline households miss out on savings of up to £560 a year by not shopping and paying bills online.

We now find that a number of companies are phasing out letters, telephone numbers and even occupation of physical buildings, moving exclusively to digital-only services and customer interaction. These sorts of developments are increasing the isolation of those we think of as vulnerable, especially the elderly, who are used to, and prefer, face-to-face communication, where empathy and understanding are more likely to be evident.

This digital isolation is an issue that homelessness charities are seeing become more widespread, as more and more lifeline services move online. It is true that attempts are being made by authorities to address some of the exclusion. Some temporary accommodation hostels have ICT suites in them, but, with many using these hostels having a lack of understanding in the use of the equipment, it still leaves them in a state of digital isolation. Clearly, there is a training issue that needs to be addressed, perhaps not just in hostels but in the vulnerable population as a whole. The closure of many of our libraries, once the pillars of our education and learning, does not help in this lack of digital training.

Can I finish by saying that this debate today is an extremely important one, in that it addresses a growing problem and one that affects a significant portion of the Welsh population? Can I thank Plaid Cymru for bringing this debate to the Chamber today? It is one that I and my colleagues are happy to support.