The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee (HCSTC) has launched an inquiry into the state of the digital government strategy, asking for written evidence to be submitted by 28 September 2018.

It comes at a time when questions are being raised as to the speed of transformation and progress across GDS – Government Digital Service – initiatives and whether the public sector and the UK as a whole have the right digital skills to take the country forward in a digital age.

Lack of Digital Transformation Progress

The Government Digital Service (GDS) was set up in 2011 to help deliver the then Government’s policy of ‘Digital by default’ in the provision of public services.

The Government then published its ‘Digital Transformation Strategy’ in February 2017, focusing on how digital technology can improve and redesign public services as well as transform internal departments to be more connected and efficient.

However, a report by the Institute in Government in 2017 highlighted that “the spread of new digital services for the public has been slower than planned” and that the Wannacry cyber-attack that hit the NHS showed “the fragility of some of the systems being used in the public sector”.

A further report by the National Audit Office (NAO) in March 2017 was also critical of progress made stating, “There continues to be a risk that GDS is trying to cover too broad a remit with unclear accountabilities.”

This new HCSTC inquiry now focuses on a number of questions which must be answered to show just how much progress has been made, including;

• The progress of Government digital services, the areas where further development is particularly needed, and how well the UK compares with other countries.
• How well Government digital services are protected from cyber attacks.
• How well the Government Digital Service (GDS) has helped spread the use of digital services across Government, including promoting the use of new technologies and uses of data.
• The digital skills capacity in Government departments and agencies, to be able to deliver effective digital services to the public and businesses.
• The implications and opportunities for GDS arising from Brexit, including areas where the nature of digital services may have to change.

Lack of Digital Leadership and Skills

On top of slow progress, there also appear to be growing concerns that MPs and the UK at large lack the digital skills necessary to take the country forward, especially in the light of Brexit.

In 2015 it was noted that less than 5% of new MPs had any formal qualification or background with digital technologies, a worrying trend where policy setting and decision making at government levels appear to be less informed than expected.

Additionally, another highly critical report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) centred around the UK exiting the EU reiterated that progress in recruiting the required digital skills was too slow, stating “The Department for Exiting the European Union and the Cabinet Office do not have a robust enough plan to identify and recruit the people and skills needed quickly

“The skills required to manage these tasks, particularly in the specialisms of project management, digital and commercial, were already in short supply in government before the need to prepare for Brexit.”

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