Budget ignores IT 'silver bullet', says Socitm

Socitm, the organisation for public sector IT professionals, said that it was looking for "specifics" about the importance of IT in chancellor George Osborne's first budget. But it said the document did not fully recognise that technology is "arguably, the only 'silver bullet' in the armoury of the new government". The public sector will miss huge opportunities for improvement if IT is seen as simply a support service, the organisation claimed. "There was an opportunity for bold statements about the multiplier effect of IT investment, especially in the public sector," it said. "It was a time to talk about new models of public/private collaboration using IT to drive public sector productivity and lower costs. It was a time to help the technology industry in the UK to modernise and see beyond the lucrative public sector deals on which some have relied in the past." The society called on the government to exploit the opportunities created by the Public Sector Network, cloud computing, shared services and other infrastructure developments. Reform should be about automation, self-service and a more flexible and efficient workforce. It said that local government has already shown a capacity to innovate in the face of tight funds, and that other parts of the public sector could follow suit.