PublicTechnology.net

Countries that want to use digital tools to increase public engagement with the democratic process must gain cross-party support for the intervention and be honest about what it will and will not do, a report has said.

The UK’s model of governance seems impervious to radical technological change, but elsewhere in the world, countries are getting digital democracy right, says Theo Bass, a researcher at innovation foundation Nesta and author of a report looking at the tools governments have at their fingertips.

Civil servants running HMRC’s digital tax reforms have defended the timeline of the plan, but admitted that some software suppliers will not have products ready until October – six months after the pilot of the scheme is due to start.

The government could change the public’s perception of big data projects by focusing on improving its marketing as well as increasing transparency, a conference has been told.

The Ministry of Justice’s commitment to code in the open by default has helped the department “hire great people”, the department’s head of technology has said.

The Department for Transport has announced the 19 councils that will share £4m in funding for innovative digital projects that aim to cut congestion, pollution and journey times.

The government’s Common Technology Services team is pitching itself as a central support and advice service for departments exiting both large and small IT contracts.

The Government Digital Service has said it will use “more robust metrics” for GOV.UK as its 2017-18 roadmap reveals plans to improve email subscription, content search and user journeys.

HMRC has said that it will develop its identity assurance solution to replace Government Gateway when it ends in March 2018 – rather than using the government’s flagship GOV.UK Verify.

HMRC is advertising for a director to lead its data strategy and help personalise customers’ interactions with services, as the tax authority reveals more details of its behavioural insights work.

The government transformation strategy provides a good rationale for the next stage of work, but more it needs vocal backing from senior politicians, experts have said.

The government has achieved “just about everything” that was in its first digital strategy and now needs a different approach to make bigger savings, the director general of the Government Digital Service has said.

The minister responsible for overseeing the creation of the Universal Credit programme has said that Whitehall's outsourcing of IT is a “fundamental mistake” and that government needs to work to attract more digital talent.

The number of reported data security incidents in the last three months of 2016 fell 21% compared with the previous quarter, according to figures released this month.

The average value of local government IT deals fell 25%, while their length dropped an average of six months, according to figures released today.

Senior managers in the public sector have said that data privacy, security and increasing regulations are all barriers to their organisations benefitting from mobile and digital technologies, according to a survey.

The public sector needs to use technology to reform its workforce by disrupting hierarchies, adopting new recruitment processes and automating administrative roles, a think tank has said.

The government has taken too long to consolidate and coordinate the “alphabet soup” of cyber security agencies and faces “a real struggle” to find staff with the right skills to tackle threats, MPs have said.

Research has revealed a continued reliance on hand-written records at NHS Trusts, although almost half say they are investing in artificial intelligence technologies.

Whitehall teams designing data infrastructure must make sure it is relevant to the majority of civil servants and that it is easy to adopt - rather than building for an “idealised future” of data use.

HMRC has said it will pilot its digital tax reforms on “hundreds of thousands” of businesses before roll out, but has maintained its initial timeline for implementation – despite MPs branding it “wholly unrealistic”.