HCI Alliance statement in response to Wednesday’s budget announcement

The HCI Alliance today urged the Government to reconsider its budget decision on Wednesday to abolish the tax exemptions on which Home Computing Initiatives (HCI) are based.

The Alliance, whose members are BT, Intel and Microsoft, has supported the Government since 2003 in promoting HCI and represents the interests of almost 100 companies ñ employing nearly 2,000 employees ñ dedicated to delivering HCI.

HCI is a cornerstone of the governmentís Digital Strategy which sets out to make computing more universally accessible ñ providing individuals with better job opportunities, easier access to public services and improving their quality of life. The Alliance reinforced its conviction ñ qualified by statistical evidence ñ that the schemes are helping the government achieve these goals.

Vivien Quinn, Director for the HCI Alliance, said: ìWe know the digital divide cannot be bridged by HCI alone, but we fundamentally believe it is making a real difference. The statistics speak for themselves; more than 500,000 PCs have been delivered to UK citizens via the schemes; 60% of these have been acquired by blue collar workers and 75% by employees who pay the standard rate of tax or lower.

ìThe schemes are proving incredibly popular. More than 1,250 UK employers of all sizes have schemes in place, including 375 public sector organisations. In addition to improving the IT skills of their workforce, employers see these schemes as a powerful way of attracting and retaining talent. Their abolition will be viewed as an enormous loss by employers and employees alike.î

Ms Quinn concluded: ìWe urge the Government to reconsider its decision. The response from employers, the public and industry has been overwhelming. We would welcome the opportunity to meet with Ministers and officials to understand the reasons behind this sudden decision, and discuss with them how we could address their concerns.î