Government must triple the funding for securing its online services, according to industry body TechUK in the wake of last week’s cyberattack which affected the NHS.

TechUK says cybersecurity must be next government’s priority – Photo credit: PAImages

The body released its manifesto setting out a digital vision for the next decade, along with a roadmap it says should be used to achieve it.

The document says that cybersecurity must be one of the next government’s main priorities, along with Brexit and the rapid digitisation of the global economy.

TechUK CEO, Julian David, said: “The next Government has to get Brexit right, but we also have to prepare for the social and economic changes ahead. The pace of global digitisation will not slow down. We have a choice about whether we want to shape the digital future or be shaped by it. This manifesto is about inventing a positive future for everyone in Global Britain.”

“Digital security is fundamental, but our defences are only as strong as our weakest link. That’s why TechUK’s cyber proposals would triple the funding for protecting Government ICT and securing online services based on the previous budget. 

“The manifesto also argues that strong encryption is also vital for defending the UK and its citizens from attacks by hackers and hostile states.”

£1bn a year should be allocated for digital transformation in the NHS to improve service delivery, according to the document.

This would mean an increase in the sustainability and transformation budget from 2% to 3% of NHS England spend, bringing it closer to average private sector IT spend.

On Brexit, TechUK said that the government must seek to achieve a robust legal framework allowing the free flow of data between the UK and EU.

Other recommendations in the document include:

• Appointing a new Digital Ambassador to promote the UK digital sector world-wide and boost exports
• Provide a 10% increase in the National Cyber Security Budget for investment in public service security
• Provide a cyber security tax credit for startup and scaleup businesses to promote safe and secure innovation
• Ring-fencing new £250 million per year raised by the Immigration Skills Charge to help fund major and world-leading domestic digital skills programmes fit for Global Britain
• Increasing the Adult Education Budget in real terms for each year of the next Parliament to support lifelong learning and retraining
• Establishing a new independent commission to radically overhaul the education system to provide people with the skills needed to compete in the 21st century economy.
• Committing to spending 3% of GDP on R&D by 2025 to develop new, world leading products and innovations