The government has created a new group which will focus on reforming the UK’s digital public services.
The government has been focused on making things ‘digital by default’ since 2010 under former Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude.
His replacement, Matt Hancock, announced the creation of the ministerial group on government digital technology, which will focus on providing better access for citizens to government services – something that Whitehall has been working on for years – but will also focus on building a series of digital “platforms”.
The government claims that this will end the days when departments built different versions of the same services. The group will also ensure that public digital services and data are both safe and secure.
In order to deliver these digital reforms, the group will co-ordinate cross-departmental action, and therefore the group meetings will be attended by ministers and officials from right across government, in a bid to find the right solutions to long-term cross-government challenges.
“Digital transformation is recasting the relationship between citizen and state, making it easier for people to interact with a government that works for them,” said Hancock.
“This means dealing with government without confusion, without being put on hold, and without having to join a queue,” he added.
Hancock said that the government believed if it could complete this digital reforms, the UK would save “billions by 2020”.
“But this means working closely across government and making sure that we can store citizens’ data safely and securely. That’s exactly what this group will do, and I’m looking forward to working with my ministerial colleagues to drive through these reforms,” he said.
Source : Computing