These skill requirements place new demands on schools and vocational training facilities. Changes in the labour force caused by e-commerce underscore the need for flexible labour markets and active labour policies that help workers adjust. Government should address the threat to e-commerce in the UK posed by limited access to broadband services, particularly ADSL by increasing the investment into widening access for business. Government should address the threat to e-commerce in the UK posed by limited access to broadband services, particularly ADSL by increasing investment in widening access for business and driving the policy forward. If this trend continues it will have a detrimental effect on the UK's e-commerce competitiveness.
Adequate funding is required to speed up and enable the progress of the digital economy.
Government should put more funding into the establishment of this part of the ICT infrastructure. The 30 million pledged so far to bring this about represents 0.14 per cent of the money it took from the private sector to allow it to build high-speed Internet access. It is vital that small businesses continue to invest and upgrade their ICT capability. We believe there is a strong case for permanently increasing the current 100 per cent capital allowance for SMEs for ICT hard and software. The introduction of 100 per cent capital allowances for SME investment in ICT hardware and software was a welcome move, and its temporary status in keeping with the objective of having 1.5 million UK small businesses on-line by 2002.