The government has created a ministerial group dedicated to coordinating and encouraging digital transformation across public services.
Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock yesterday announced the creation of the new Ministerial Group on Government Digital Technology.
The government says that the group will help drive through digital reforms, although it falls short of a demand made by industry body TechUK for a digital minister in every government department.
Hancock said that digital transformation could save central and local government billions of pounds by 2020.
“But this means working closely across government and making sure that we can store citizens’ data safely and securely,” he said.
“That’s exactly what this group will do, and I’m looking forward to working with my ministerial colleagues to drive through these reforms.”
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Hancock said that the government would push ahead with a series of digital platforms “that will end the days when departments built different versions of the same service”.
He added that the creation of the platforms would ensure data stored by government was staff.
The government said that ministers and officials from across government would attend the new group to help solve long-term cross-government challenges. It made no mention of local government representation.
Last month, Felicity Singleton, enabling strategy programme director, at the Government Digital Service, admitted that in future, dialogue between local and central government would be needed to deliver true government as a platform.
