Socitm calls for better ICT governance

Socitm has made the claim as part of its response to parliament's public administration select committee's enquiry on how government develops and implements policy in the field. It says that a lack of coordination is leading to fragmented procurement and incompatible systems, and that "pan local/pan public sector" governance of strategy, architecture and commissioning would be the best way to improve the coordination and implementation of policy. Government ICT policy is also poorly coordinated and leads to unnecessary costs, according to Socitm. About 60% of government interactions with citizens occur at a local level, but it is left to organisations such as Socitm itself to represent the needs of local public services, it says. On a more positive note, it acknowledges improvements at a local level, and in coordinating technology and information assurance, due to the work of the Local Chief Information Officers Council and the Local Government Delivery Council. The committee has set up the enquiry in response to the current financial constraints and central government's notorious record for large IT projects running late, over budget and ultimately failing. One of its key questions is how the UK government's procurement and use of ICT compares with that of other countries. Socitm says it is difficult to draw a direct comparison, but the UK does seem to have "more than its fair share" of failures. "Other countries are able to achieve greater flexibility and speed of procurement, including those in Europe that need to comply with EU procurement rules," the society says. It calls on the government to collate best practice from around the world, learning from other countries' experiences and then provide clear guidance. This article is published by Guardian Professional