Speaking at the Public Sector ICT summit in London, HM Government deputy chief technology officer Magnus Falk said that work is underway on how the next government can build on the progress achieved since 2010.

 

He said that prototypes, business cases and alpha testing are already underway for a range of options for new platforms and processes.

 

“The success of .gov.uk and other platforms gives us a hint that we can go deeper and faster,” he said. “Digital transformation can be increased through GaaP. Proving the value and the reality is the work in process”

 

He said that .gov.uk had helped make life easier for citizens by bringing existing services together in one place. However, the processes themselves pretty much intact, he said.

 

The current work programme, he said, is looking at the design of new business processes and platforms to respond to user needs.

 

“Platforms are going to emerge as services develop and change,” he said.

 

Falk refused to give more details on the plans, but said that responsibility for implementation would lie with the next government.

 

He said: “That should be done when next government are ready to take a decision. They will be democratically elected, so we will be ready to take instruction on how fast we go.”

 

Speaking to PublicTechnology after the speech, Siobhan Coughlan, programme manager as part of productivity team at the Local Government Association, said: “We are interested to see what the proposals consist of. “It would be great if they started talking to local government and the rest of the public sector who are working on the front line so we can co-design services together.”

 

She said that new platforms should be built to deal with more complex transactions that citizens have to deal with, such as moving house.

 

“At the moment, you still have to tell each organisation – the council, health services and schools, separately that you have moved. This could be simplified using technology.”