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RSS feedsE-minister Patricia Hewitt has hinted at a departmental shake-up to boost the UK Government's flagging claims to leadership of the digital economy.
In an exclusive interview with Computing, Hewitt said: "Now that we have four years' experience and a better idea [of the problems], organisational change could help push through some changes in culture and behaviour to get joined-up thinking in action."
Hewitt refused to be drawn on whether there should be a cabinet-level e-minister, saying that was a matter for Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The Government machine has long been seen as resistant to change. "Business has undergone the pain of restructuring and upheaval. Government has not," says a draft positioning paper from parliamentary lobby group Eurim.
The paper, written by Eurim's corporate members and circulated to MPs, adds: "There is a fear that in some departments the drive is to apply technology to current systems instead of using IT to bring about fundamental change and radical improvements in service."
It calls for the appointment of a cabinet-level minister for e-government, with a cross-departmental remit and ring-fenced funding.
Eurim also warns that 'Information Age Champions' - civil servants with responsibilities for promoting IT in their departments - have been selected "for their IT literacy rather than business awareness or ability to focus on the needs of their stakeholders".
See also:
All Public Sector IT
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