In today’s budget announcement the Chancellor stuck to his guns with the usual areas – not least welfare and tax reform and - continuing to take a hit with £37 billion of further consolidation over the Parliament to secure Britain’s future. Along with the new living wage, the focus on driving skills development is of interest, something the technology industry has been calling for and no doubt will be pleased with the introduction of the apprenticeships levy. In addition we welcome the new agreement of devolved power (to Greater Manchester), setting a precedent for the future.
It seems clear that the NHS remains a top priority with £8 billion per year pledged in order to drive the Five Year Forward View. As a supplier, among other things, of specialist systems that support integrated health and social care, we welcome all initiatives that underpin closer working between care providers in order to deliver improved patient-centric services. Recognition of the fact that siloed funding streams are an encumbrance to integrated care services needs to translate into actions that bring these streams together, extending the success to date in local initiatives.
Finally, a handful of initiatives were announced to drive digital transformation. Collaboration between business, government and academia will drive global opportunities for UK technologies, but there is still a lot to do to increase adoption of digital public services. In our recent report, The Changing Landscape for Local Government, it was evident that the social and demographic landscape is changing at a pace that public services can’t keep up with, particularly when it comes to delivering digital services. There needs to be an increased focus on data-driven insights combined with a mind-set that embraces change. In an information society, intelligent data collection and analysis can empower government organisations to build insight, inform planning and improve service delivery. More attention is needed here.
Paul Bradbury, Group Business Development Director, Civica