Digitise and Streamline Government

Digital has a significant role to play if we are to curb or even cut total Government expenditure. We need the ability to deliver small and targeted projects across Government that automate repetitive tasks, and drive more proactive work.

We need the skills in Government to deliver digital change

When Assistant Chief Minister with Responsibility for Digital Services, I pushed to grow internal talent to build deliver this, in particular, I wanted to see a dedicated team that could work across Government, unrestrained by day-to-day maintenance.

The current Technology Strategy lays some foundations including an academy for training and AI pilots, but to deliver this, Digital Services needs capacity and a mandate to build new services in-house, to reduce the cost of the public service, and improve the quality of delivery.

Digital must not replace the in-person and paper side of Government

With all that said, you might think I want to stop in-person services, and remove paper forms. In fact, its the opposite. I believe our Government has a duty to serve its islanders how best suits them.

I’ve often found it more reassuring to call a department or pop in to ask a question, that just read a webpage. As we deliver streamlined processes, we must retain the choice for the islander. For example, we should build digital forms that can be exported to a printed form, and have the processes in place to ensure that Government can provide and receive these on request.