Every day for the last two or three months we seem to have woken up to a new announcement about cost cutting in the public sector or job losses or the grim economic outlook that we will all need to face up to over the next few years.

This week was no different with the Bank of England forecasting a “choppy” economic recovery for the UK as inflation remains higher than expected and growth drops below 3%, (http://bit.ly/ddo2mf ).

… It is enough to make anyone feel pretty glum.

And yet despite all this depressing news, there are a number of positive government changes, policies and initiatives which if structured correctly and supported properly could make a really positive difference.

And crucially for an online solutions provider like WTG; the web has a crucial part to play.

In this article I will identify a number of these initiatives and then over the coming weeks I will look at each in detail to understand a bit more about what it means to government and citizens and how the web will play a key part.

You only need look at the statements in the Coalition’s “Our Programme for Government” document which was published in May of this year; http://bit.ly/99w1bd ;

“We are committed to turning old thinking on its head and developing new approaches to government. For years, politicians could argue that because they held all the information, they needed more power. But today, technological innovation has – with astonishing speed – developed the opportunity to spread information and decentralise power in a way we have never seen before.”

David Cameron, Prime Minister and Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister, Our Programme for Government, May 2010. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10680062

3. The Government’s economic recovery plan

Unlike the previous Labour government which promoted a more gradual recovery plan based on not making budget cuts in 2010, the new government has started making reductions straight away. In June for example the Government’s budget statement spelled out a 25% cut in departmental expenditure over a four-year period for all except ring-fenced spending on health and overseas aid. The cuts are set to lead to budget squeezes for IT in the public sector and so spark a further review of efficiency.

Already we have seen a number of departments making necessary reductions in order to meet new spending levels.

Summary

Clearly we are still to see the impact of the new Government’s economic approach and its new programmes and policies, but one thing is clear; IT and specifically web platforms have a key role to play.

Here are a couple of interesting examples of the important part IT and the web can play;

-       10 Ways Technology Can Cut Costs And Boost Efficiency In The Public Sector,  http://bit.ly/d6iWZf

-       Web 2.0 enables public sector revolution, http://bit.ly/ahKgDy

Over the coming weeks I will be looking in more detail at the part the web has to play in the three areas highlighted in this article and what it means to WTG and the online solutions and services we offer to our public sector customers.

I welcome your input on this, so let me know if you have any comments.