A BOLTON MP has spoken out against cuts to the number of publicly available computers.

Figures from the House of Commons library show 589 computers have been lost from libraries in the North West since 2010, and 58 Jobcentre computers have been cut since 2014.

Sir David Crausby, MP for Bolton North East is worried this is causing digital exclusion and will prevent people without access to the internet from applying for jobs.

He said: “For people who need to fill in Universal Credit or job applications, access to a computer is essential but the closure of libraries and jobcentres is reducing access to free public computers.

"One in five people out of work don’t have access to the internet, and under this Tory Government there are fewer and fewer places for them to turn.

"We need to do more to help those who do not have the skills or resources to get online, and make sure alternative ways to access government services don’t disappear and exclude people in the rush to make everything digital.”