The much delayed government digital strategy, originally due to be published last spring, has now emerged, with the emphasis firmly on building the required level of skills and enabling UK businesses to exploit the opportunities offered by emerging technologies.
Essentially the strategy is based around the following seven themes:
- Connectivity – the roll-out of 4G and superfast broadband will be completed by 2020, and there will be a further investment of over £1 billion to accelerate the development and uptake of next generation digital infrastructure – including full fibre and 5G
- Digital skills – more than four million free digital skills training opportunities will be created, together with the establishment of a new Digital Skills Partnership (more on this below)
- Making the UK the “best place to start and grow a digital business” – the aim here is to encourage innovation-friendly regulation that creates a positive context for the adoption of new technologies, alongside the announcement in the Autumn Statement 2016 of an additional £4.7 billion by 2020-21 in R&D funding
- Helping businesses go digital – the focus here will be on £13 million of funding to create a private sector-led Productivity Council (announced in the Autumn Statement 2016) to improve productivity through the appropriate use of digital technologies
- Cyber security – there is support for the National Cyber Security Centre to provide a single point of contact for companies, together with a new approach referred to as Active Cyber Defence which will use the skills and knowledge of GCHQ in conjunction with the country’s ISPs to provide a new level of protection for UK cyberspace
- Digital government – based around the new Government Transformation Strategy published in February 2017, there will be continued development of single cross-government platform services, including working towards a target of 25 million GOV.UK Verify users by 2020
- Data – the aim is to make the UK a world-leading data-driven economy and to improve public confidence in its use, with a commitment to implement the General Data Protection Regulation by May 2018
A new Digital Skills Partnership will see government, business, charities and voluntary organisations coming together to make sure people have the right skills for the jobs in their area and are aware of all the digital training opportunities on offer. As part of this the government has secured a number of new pledges from private sector organisations, including:
- Google will launch a Summer of Skills programme in coastal towns across the UK aimed at developing bespoke digital skills training schemes to help boost tourism and growth in seaside towns
- Lloyds Banking Group will provide face-to-face digital skills training to two and half million individuals, small and medium businesses and charities by 2020, including internet banking.
- Barclays will assist up to one million people with general digital skills and cyber awareness in 2017, and will teach basic coding to 45,000 children
- BT will expand its Barefoot Computing Project to enable a further 500,000 children to develop early computational thinking skills by the end of the 2017/18 academic year
In addition, the strategy also sets out plans to empower innovative businesses through a number of new initiatives including:
- The creation of five international tech hubs in emerging markets to create and develop partnerships between UK companies and local tech firms. These hubs will help provide UK businesses with a global competitive edge and drive collaboration on skills, innovation, technology, and research and development
- A new competition to spark the development of new FinTech products that can support those who struggle to access financial services and provide consumers with the tools they need to manage their finances well
Mike Cherry, national chairman at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “The commitment within the digital strategy to boost digital skills and confidence to go online is vital, with two in five small businesses believing digital skills are crucial to their future growth.”
These views were echoed by Josh Hardie, CBI Deputy Director-General, who commented: “UK companies are at the forefront of the digital revolution. The pledges announced by the Government underline businesses’ commitment to build the skills we need for a modern economy, as well as tackle barriers to technology adoption.”
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