SOCITM (Society of Information Technology Management)
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PM’s vision of Britain’s digital future will require commitment to locally delivered information handling and technology deployment says Socitm
The ideas and intentions set out in the Prime Minister’s speech on
In a response to the speech, Socitm, which represents IT professionals in the public and third sectors, says that evidence from the Total Place pilots and elsewhere confirms that public services deliver more, better and for less when services are led, managed and resourced locally, with citizens and front-line staff having a major say in the nature and composition of those services.
Noting that the PM’s speech contains no explicit reference to local public services delivery and accountability, Socitm’s response points out that it is at the local level that many services can reform, collaborate and innovate to deliver the step change in value and cost to citizens and businesses. These changes feature in an emerging vision for Tomorrow’s Public Services, being developed jointly by Socitm with a number of other organisations.
While national standards and infrastructure such as the citizen ID authentication and universal superfast broadband mentioned in the speech are important, renewed effort to share information and manage the associated risks between the agents of public service delivery is essential in order to create well-targeted and efficient services. New, low-cost, interactive technologies enabling new forms of collaboration between providers and service users should also be on the radar, says Socitm. Further Information
Vicky Sargent Socitm Press Office
Nevertheless there is much to be encouraged about in the speech, says Socitm Policy Head Martin Ferguson. ‘The concept of the ‘Mygov’ personalised portal, coupled with the end of the era of the ‘one-size-fits-all, man-from-the-ministry-knows-best approach’, will resonate with all those involved in local public services delivery who have struggled for many years with implementing Whitehall-imposed directives.
The paper concludes by saying that the jury is out as to whether the Government is ready to step up to the plate by dismembering its centralising tendency for control, while shifting power to the citizen. It may have no choice as the growing power of the Internet to undermine and break patterns of centralist control could by itself herald a new order in which citizens become genuinely empowered and able to express voice and choice.
A Socitm policy briefing: Response to the Prime Minister’s speech on Britain’s Digital Future is free to download from http://www.socitm.net/downloads
Martin Ferguson martin.ferguson@socitm.gov.uk
Socitm Head of Policy
vicky.sargent@socitm.net
