Concerns have been raised over a ‘digital divide’ that has left many residents living their life offline.

New figures show that 8.5% of people in the area covering Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire are still not accessing the internet, despite many services moving online during the Covid pandemic.

The region has a smaller digital divide than neighbouring Glasgow (10%) but a higher percentage of non-internet users than South Lanarkshire (6.7%).

Andy Woods, director of web design and development agency Rouge Media, which collated the figures, said local residents who are older or finding it hard to make ends meet are more likely to be internet non-users who have been living offline for at least the last three months or have never visited the worldwide web at all.

However, he expects the digital divide to narrow as the percentage of people who were born before the internet becomes smaller and the first generation of ‘digital natives’ reach adulthood.

“It’s clear that, while progress has been made, an enduring digital divide remains, which appears to be impacting older residents and poorer households unequally,” he added.