The Labour Party¹s attempt to capture the digital government agenda before the general election got under way today with the launch of an a digital government review.
The initiative, led by shadow Cabinet Office ministers, Chi Onwurah MP and Michael Dugher MP, will
update the Digital Britain report published under Gordon Brown¹s government.
Like its predecessor, its focus is likely to be on digital inclusion and transparency. An independent advisory board named today to support the project contains experts in both areas. However direct experience of
managing local government public services is conspicuously absent among the members.
Labour said the review would examine "how digital technology can improve both the effectiveness and efficiency of people-powered public services and develop a framework for powering digital government and putting citizens in control of their relationship with government, including their own data."
Onwurah, a former engineer who worked in hardware and software development in the private sector, said: "Under the guidance of our advisory board and with contributions from a wide range of stakeholders across the country, the review will deliver a framework for transforming digital government together with concrete policy
proposals to make digital services work for the many."
Members of the advisory board will include:
- Peter Ingram, managing director of Touchstone Consulting and previously
CTO of Ofcom and BT Retail
- Stephen King, a partner at Omidyar Network
- Piers Linney, Co-CEO of, Outsourcery plc (and a Dragon on the BBC¹s
Dragon¹s Den)
- William Perrin, founder of Talk About Local and former Cabinet Office
official
- Cho Oliver, director of Liquid Steel
- Vicki Shotbolt, founder of The Parent Zone
- Jeni Tennison, technical director, the Open Data Institute
- Graham Walker, chief executive, Go ON UK
