Scotland seeks views on digital government

Public services

A key focus is on transforming public services through reform programmes for several areas of government, including the NHS, social care, justice, learning, planning and agriculture and the rural communities.

 In each of these areas, a partnership of central government, local authorities and other stakeholders will work together to deliver a “net-zero society that is centred around the people who use our services to boost their well-being, and ensure it is easier to deal with government, at all levels, online”.

The government is also in the throes of developing a digital identity system for users, which can be used across services.

“This will improve a user’s access to services by providing a safe and secure way to prove their identity, while reducing time and cost for the public sector. Additionally, we will develop an inclusive approach for all users to ensure that offline services are available for those who are unable to use a digital service,” the report said.

The government will also create a digital service hub with a common catalogue of services and components that will be used as a default across the country, as well as a Scottish Digital Academy.

“This will be based on a common architecture, a joint approach to prioritisation, joint design, joint commissioning/procurement and joint governance, delivering efficiencies and simplifying people’s experience of working with and in government,” the consultation said.

It added that it will also explore “the potential for digital technology to better enable parliamentarians and elected council members to engage with constituents remotely to enhance the resilience of the democratic process; assist participation in local decision making and community councils; and to engage with overseas governments remotely to improve Scotland’s international influence”.

Supporting businesses

In May 2020, the Scottish government launched a short-term review of the country’s technology sector.

The review, which was led by former Skyscanner chief operating officer (COO) Mark Logan, was published in August 2020 and called for government to build out “a world-class backbone implementation of core capability”.

“Scotland should create a nationwide network of tech scaler centres. We recommend that these are initially created in six cities nationwide, for example: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, Stirling and Inverness,” the review said.

The tech scalers will provide “long-term affordable, high-quality incubation space” and education in a range of areas, including Silicon Valley business models, internet-economy working practices, how to manage people and teams and basic operating hygiene, and the government has already promised funding for five such centres.

The government also aims to attract national and international investment in testing, developing and commercialising new products and services “based on the potential offered by 5G and the internet of things (IoT)”, the consultation said.

The government will also “create a programme of data-driven innovation with The Data Lab, our universities, and the digital technologies industry, to maximise the economic and environmental opportunities presented by the high-quality sources of data that we have in Scotland”, as well as promote Scotland as a European centre for green datacentres.

“This will require us to capitalise on Scotland’s abundant natural resources to promote Scotland as a European centre for green datacentres to improve international and terrestrial fibre connectivity stimulate the market and incentivise commercial investment,” it said.

The government is seeking views and inputs on the consultation throughout autumn 2020 before publishing an updated digital strategy.

“Delivering this ambitious digital agenda is vital as we work manage and mitigate the considerable risks arising from EU exit,” it said.

“The Scottish government is clear about the challenges post-Brexit barriers will create – to trading with the world’s biggest market, to attracting EU talent so vital to our technology sector’s success, to collaborating across borders on research and data-driven innovation, based on shared values, ethics and goals.”