4 European eGovernment Action Plan
2011-2015
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COM(10) 743
| Commission Communication: The European eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015, Harnessing ICT to promote smart, sustainable & innovative Government
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| Legal base | —
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| Document originated | 15 December 2010
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| Deposited in Parliament | 22 December 2010
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| Department | Cabinet Office
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 18 January 2011
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| Previous Committee Report | None; but see (31368) 9981/10 : HC 428-i (2010-11), chapter 28 (8 September 2010)
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| To be discussed in Council | 27 May 2011 Telecoms Council
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information requested
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Background
4.1 Commission Communication 9981/10 (COM(10) 245) sets out
the Commission's Digital Agenda for Europe (which replaces the
earlier i2010 Strategy). It is the first of seven flagship initiatives
under the "Europe 2020" strategy.[16]
The "Europe 2020" strategy, which was launched by the
Commission in March 2010, is a ten year strategy for smart, sustainable
and inclusive growth, designed to prepare the EU for the challenges
that it will face over the next 10 years. It was endorsed by the
25-26 March 2010 European Council.
4.2 In unveiling its Digital Agenda for Europe[17]
on 19 May 2010, the Commission said that implementing its ambitious
agenda would contribute significantly to the EU's economic growth
and spread the benefits of the digital era to all sections of
society. The Commission noted that half of European productivity
growth over the past 15 years was already driven by information
and communications technologies and this trend was likely to accelerate.
At that time, Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda
Neelie Kroes said:
"We must put the interests of Europe's citizens
and businesses at the forefront of the digital revolution and
so maximise the potential of Information and Communications Technologies
(ICTs) to advance job creation, sustainability and social inclusion.
The ambitious strategy set out today shows clearly where we need
to focus our efforts in the years to come. To fully realise the
potential of Europe's digital future we need the full commitment
of Member States, the ICT sector and other vital economic players."
4.3 The Digital Agenda focuses on seven priority
areas, and foresees some 100 follow-up actions, of which 31 would
be legislative. The seven areas are:
- creating a digital Single Market;
- greater interoperability;
- boosting internet trust and security;
- much faster internet access;
- more investment in research and development;
- enhancing digital literacy skills and inclusion;
and
- applying information and communications technologies
to address challenges facing society like climate change and the
ageing population.
4.4 Full details of the Communication and the
Government's views are set out in our Report of 8 September 2010.[18]
The Commission Communication
4.5 The Commission says that, at a time of highly
constrained public resources, ICT can help the public sector develop
innovative ways of delivering its services to citizens while unleashing
efficiencies and driving down costs. It notes that implementation
of the first European eGovernment Action Plan[19]
has seen Member State governments exchange good practice, and
resulted in a number of large-scale pilot projects which are developing
concrete solutions for rolling out cross-border eGovernment services.
The availability of innovative technologies such as social networks
has increased the expectations of citizens in terms of responsiveness
when accessing all kinds of services on line. However, cross-border
eGovernment services are few and, even where eGovernment services
are offered, the majority of EU citizens are reluctant to use
them. There is, the Commission says, therefore:
"clearly a need to move towards a more open
model of design, production and delivery of online services, taking
advantage of the possibility offered by collaboration between
citizens, entrepreneurs and civil society. The combination of
new technologies, open specifications, innovative architectures
and the availability of public sector information can deliver
greater value to citizens with fewer resources."
4.6 The Commission is therefore proposing a second
eGovernment Action Plan which aims to realise "the ambitious
vision" contained in the Declaration made at the 5th Ministerial
eGovernment Conference (the "Malmö Declaration").[20]
According to this ambitious vision, by 2015 European public administrations
will be:
"recognised for being open, flexible and collaborative
in their relations with citizens and businesses. They use eGovernment
to increase their efficiency and effectiveness and to constantly
improve public services in a way that caters for user's different
needs and maximises public value, thus supporting the transition
of Europe to a leading knowledge-based economy."
4.7 The Malmö Declaration sets out four
political priorities for all European public administrations over
the next five years:
- citizens and businesses are
empowered by eGovernment services designed around users' needs
and developed in collaboration with third parties, as well as
by increased access to public information, strengthened transparency
and effective means for involvement of stakeholders in the policy
process;
- mobility in the Single Market is reinforced by
seamless eGovernment services for the setting up and running of
a business and for studying, working, residing and retiring anywhere
in the European Union;
- efficiency and effectiveness is enabled by a
constant effort to use eGovernment to reduce the administrative
burden, improve organisational processes and promote a sustainable
low-carbon economy;
- the implementation of the policy priorities is
made possible by creating the appropriate key enablers and by
establishing the necessary legal and technical preconditions.
4.8 The Commission says Governments need to provide
better public services with fewer resources, and that each of
the above political priorities works towards that aim, as well
as providing new and better ways to engage with citizens, citing
the emergence of innovative technologies such as "service-oriented
architectures" (SOA), or "clouds" of services,
together with more open specifications which allow for greater
sharing, re-use and interoperability reinforce the ability of
ICT to play a key role in this quest for efficiency in the public
sector.
4.9 The Action Plan aims at maximising the complementary
nature of national and European policy instruments and supporting
the transition to a new generation of more open, flexible, seamless
and collaborative ICT-enabled public services across Europe. It
envisages three types of measures:
- where Member States are leading
and rely on their own resources, the Commission will help by supporting
and coordinating activities; measures proposed will focus on setting
targets with the Member States and on how to achieve these targets
by means of exchanging best practice, conducting studies and benchmarking;
- where the Commission and Member States work jointly
to develop, deploy or improve cross-border services, the Commission
will take the lead where joint resources are used, while Member
States will bear the final responsibility for implementing activities
using their own resources. The measures proposed will include
research and development, pilot projects, collaborative development
and transfer of knowledge to the market; and
- where the Commission can create enabling conditions,
the measures proposed will include adopting legal instruments,
setting standards, formulating common frameworks, implementing
generic tools, providing re-useable technical building blocks
to ensure interoperability.
4.10 The Communication then examines a number
of action areas, including:
USER EMPOWERMENT — SERVICES DESIGNED AROUND
USERS NEEDS AND INCLUSIVE SERVICES
The Commission's actions aim support Member States
developing user-centric public services and ensuring inclusiveness
and accessibility, involving best practice sharing and awareness-raising,
making available online access to information on laws, regulations,
policies and finance, all Member States enabling their citizens
to have electronic access to personal data held on them when available
electronically and involvement of citizens and businesses in policy-making
processes.
INTERNAL MARKET — SEAMLESS SERVICES FOR BUSINESSES
The Commission requests Member States to ensure sustainable
follow-up to the existing European pilots into eProcurement and
the Services Directive, and restates its intention to issue a
White Paper on the interconnectivity of eProcurement services
across Europe. Personal mobility is another area where the Commission
will support the exchange of best practice between Member States
and will also act to coordinate efforts jointly to develop and
establish interoperable cross-border services. Supplementary to
this, the Commission ask Member States to continue to work to
provide interoperable cross-border services for citizens wishing
to study, work, reside, receive health care and retire within
the European Union. Dependent on well defined-needs, Member States
are asked to agree on a number of key cross-border services to
be rolled out between 2012-2015 and identify the appropriate life
events/stages in which these services will be supporting.
EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS — IMPROVING ORGANISATIONAL
PROCESSES
The Commission will facilitate the exchange of experiences,
encourage re-use of successful solutions and applications and
explore new approaches to support Member States in their efforts
to improve organisational processes in delivering eGovernment.
These actions relate to the Commission Communication on European
Interoperability for Public Services.[21]
PRE-CONDITIONS FOR DEVELOPING EGOVERNMENT —
KEY ENABLERS
Actions on key enablers start with the Commission's
proposal for the revision of the eSignatures Directive with a
view to providing a legal framework for cross-border recognition
and interoperability of secure eAuthentication systems. In relation
to this action, the Commission will also propose a Council Decision
to ensure mutual recognition of eIdentification and eAuthentication
across the European Union. Finally, the Commission encourages
Member States to apply and roll out eIdentity solutions based
on the results of European pilots and related projects.
PRE-CONDITIONS FOR DEVELOPING EGOVERNMENT —
INNOVATIVE EGOVERNMENT
The Commission will launch a study and recommend
actions in the field of innovative solutions, such as Cloud Computing
for government services.[22]
The Commission will further its activities under existing programmes
to support Member States in the preparation for the upgrade to
Internet Protocol version 6. The Commission will use pilots to
demonstrate how public administrations can deliver more flexible
and efficient ways of delivering services.
GOVERNANCE
The Commission will establish a High-Level Expert
Group of Member States representatives responsible for national
eGovernment strategies. Participants are requested to report on
achievements met and, where appropriate, alignment of national
strategies. The Action Plan will be evaluated by the Commission
and the Plan will be updated subsequently.
The Government's view
4.11 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 18 January
2011, the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Mr Francis Maude) explains
that, though the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
has responsibility for the overall Digital Agenda for Europe,
he has primary responsibility for Government's ICT Strategy, Digital
Delivery, Transparency and Digital Engagement.
4.12 The Minister begins by noting that the objectives
outlined in the European eGovernment Action Plan have implications
for other areas of public sector, including those in the Devolved
Administrations:
"The Scottish Executive remarked on the ambitious
proposals of the Action Plan and has requested the Government
to keep the Executive involved in the implementation of the Action
Plan using existing channels. The Executive seek clarification
as to how the UK Government will involve the Executive in taking
forward domestic policy in the areas of eIdentity and Authentication,
the improvement of online access and interoperability frameworks.
"The Northern Ireland Executive have specifically
expressed support for the Commission's proposals for helping the
public sector develop innovative ways of delivering its services
to citizens. The Northern Ireland Government conclude by stressing
the necessity for continued involvement associated with the Action
Plan and their willingness to be involved in the UK's continued
collaboration with the EU."
4.13 He then describes the actions outlined in
the Communication as "ambitious but achievable in the 2011-2015
timeframe", and says that there are no fundamental policy
implications in the Action Plan. Several of the actions are, he
says already underway in the UK and a number of others are under
consideration as part of the Government's ICT Strategy and associated
workstreams across the Cabinet Office and other departments.
4.14 He then comments in detail as follows:
USER EMPOWERMENT — SERVICES DESIGNED AROUND
USERS NEEDS AND INCLUSIVE SERVICES
"As part of the Government's response to Martha
Lane Fox's Strategic Review of Directgov, we will be looking to
further develop the provision of online services and increase
their take-up by supporting initiatives such as the Race Online
2012 Campaign which is aimed at getting more people online. Services
already exist in the UK whereby users are offered the functionality
to monitor the progress of their transactions, for instance, users
are able to see the progress of their online Tax Self-Assessment
and receive email notifications when it is filed. The Government
welcomes the Commission's actions to support Member States development
of these services and we look forward to exchanging best practice
with other countries.
USER EMPOWERMENT — COLLABORATIVE PRODUCTION
OF SERVICES
"The Government's Big Society Agenda furthers
the aims of co-production between government administrations and
civil society. The UK's landscape is growing whereby collaboration
is embraced. The recent 'Spending Challenge' initiative received
over 100,000 ideas, including more than 63,000 from the public
sector. The initiative resulted in a number of key objectives
in the Chancellor's Spending Review that will now be taken forward
as policy. The Government looks forward to exchanging best practice
with the rest of Europe and we will be looking to ensure the common
targets are realistic and achievable.
USER EMPOWERMENT — RE-USE OF PUBLIC SECTOR
INFORMATION
"The UK is seen as a leader in the availability
and re-use of public sector information, so much so that the Government's
website 'data.gov.uk' is cited in the Communication as an example
of work already in practice. We have already been exchanging information
on experience with Member States on this topic and welcome a more
comprehensive effort facilitated by the Commission. The Cabinet
Office will work with The National Archives to agree on the EU
common indicators for re-use on behalf of the UK but do not foresee
any policy implications.
USER EMPOWERMENT — IMPROVED TRANSPARENCY
"Transparency is a priority for Government and
we welcome the efforts of the Commission to further the transparency
of laws, regulations, policies and finance. As part of departments'
Structural Reform Plans, their websites already offer information
online relating to their structures and financial spend; the names,
grades and pay of Senior Civil Servants; and current policies
and resources on current legislation.
"The Government, in accordance with the existing
data protection legal framework, ensures that users of eGovernment
services are provided with 'fair processing' information to outline
what and how their personal data is to be processed. This ensures
that the individual knows exactly what is going to happen to their
information and how it is going to be used. The Government will
work with Member States to further explore the action in relation
to administrations electronically informing citizens when their
data is being processed by automatic means. There may be situations,
for example, in relation to the prevention, investigation and
detection of criminal offences, where it might be prejudicial
to give notice. The Government is cautious that this provision
may be cost-prohibitive.
USER EMPOWERMENT — INVOLVEMENT OF CITIZENS
AND BUSINESSES IN POLICY-MAKING PROCESSES
"The Government is presently exploring ways
of consulting interested parities in the policy-making process,
such as the Government's Spending Challenge initiative. The Treasury
Committee Report following the Spending Review 2010 Inquiry stated
that while it is worthwhile to seek the views of public servants
and the general public, such consultations cannot be a substitute
for longer-term engagement with public sector employees and responsiveness
to input from stakeholder groups. The Government will be pleased
to share our experiences with other Member States on this theme
in order to help shape future measures proposed by the Commission.
"The Government will seek further clarification
as to what level and size of service the Commission outline in
their actions to support 'citizen initiatives', but we are confident
that through the sharing of best practice and experience a resolution
can be agreed.
INTERNAL MARKET — SEAMLESS SERVICES FOR BUSINESSES
"The Government looks forward to the outcomes
of the pilots mentioned in the Action Plan but we are cautious
that the Commission must not allow the outcomes to become de facto
for the sake of it. The roll out of future cross-border services
must be sustainable and based on commonly agreed standards and
business processes, not simply those based on pilots outcomes
carried out by a number of Member States. The Government will
work to ensure UK interests are safeguarded in this respect by
ensuring departments are engaged with the decision-making process
in the coming years.
INTERNAL MARKET — PERSONAL MOBILITY
"The Government welcomes the efforts by the
Commission to facilitate the exchanging of best practices and
creating the environment for Member States to jointly develop
common services. The Government is already committed to delivering
a number of services in the fields mentioned in the Communication.
As a result of the Government's ICT Project Review, we look to
find synergies of services across departments, advocating where
possible the re-use of solutions to reduce costs.
INTERNAL MARKET — EU-WIDE IMPLEMENTATION OF
CROSS-BORDER SERVICES
"The Government is encouraged by the Commission's
commitment to a study into the demand of new cross-border services,
out of which we will look to analyse with other Member States
which, if any, would be suitable for development. Bearing in mind
the current constraints on public expenditure, the UK is unlikely
to enter into any future pilots unless the business case for involvement
justifies the cost.
EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS — IMPROVING ORGANISATIONAL
PROCESSES
"The majority of the actions relate to internal
Commission deliverables that will not impact the UK. The UK will
look to examine the process and function in which the Commission
will facilitate the staff exchange of eGovernment professionals.
Depending on the finalised objectives, timings and costs involved,
the UK would look to consider participation as part of the Government's
ongoing IT Profession agenda.
EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS — REDUCTION OF
ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENS
"Similar to the 'once-only' principle, the Government's
work on the 'Tell Us Once' programme is already underway. Further
research and best practice sharing on the European stage into
how citizens only have to inform the appropriate authority once
[of] their details when using a government service (rather than
multiple times) would be welcomed.
EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS — GREEN GOVERNMENT
"The UK is seen as a global leader for understanding
the complexities involved in setting targets to deliver greener
Government ICT and we welcome the Commission's efforts in undertaking
a study and working with Member States to establish commonly agreed
indicators and procedures. The Government would have welcomed
the target date of 2013 to have been set sooner given the priority
of global carbon reduction.
PRE-CONDITIONS FOR DEVELOPING EGOVERNMENT —
OPEN SPECIFICATIONS AND INTEROPERABILITY
"The Government welcomes the Commission's action
on exchanging best practice and promoting re-use and sharing of
existing solutions for government services. The Government believes
the recommendations set out in the European Interoperability Framework
accommodates the upcoming ICT Strategy and associated workstreams
such as the Standards and Architecture Framework. We are confident
the Government will meet the 2013 deadline to ensure alignment
between the frameworks.
PRE-CONDITIONS FOR DEVELOPING EGOVERNMENT —
KEY ENABLERS
"The Government has noted the Commission's plans
and will work with stakeholders to ensure any proposals are subject
to full consideration across Government before agreement is given.
The Government is currently considering its policy towards eIdentity
and eAuthentication and has issued a 'Prior Implementation Notice'
relating to the development of a new concept for a citizen trust
framework. Cabinet Office lead on the development of the new concept
and roll out of eIdentity solution design. Departments will roll
out the eIdentity solutions in accordance with that design.
PRE-CONDITIONS FOR DEVELOPING EGOVERNMENT —
INNOVATIVE EGOVERNMENT
"The Government looks forward to the Commission's
initiative under innovation. The Government is working to deliver
its Structural Reform milestone of the creation of a Government
ICT Skunkworks team whereby innovative solutions are requested
by departments and delivered by a team outside the normal confines
of service delivery.[23]
The Government will look to the Commission's plans for developing
pilots in the area of innovation, and if worthwhile the Government
will consider participation. The Government has been actively
pursuing development principles associated with the implementation
of a Government Cloud.
GOVERNANCE
"Cabinet Office will represent the UK at the
High Level Group outlined in the Commission's action, reporting
where necessary on our achievements and fulfilment of obligations."
Conclusion
4.15 The Minister notes that there are no
fundamental policy implications in the Action Plan. However, he
also notes some unease on the part of the Scottish Executive,
particularly with regard to eIdentity and eAuthentication, and
a request for clarification as to how the UK Government will involve
the Executive in taking forward domestic policy in the areas of
eIdentity and Authentication, the improvement of online access
and interoperability frameworks. His only comment thus far is
that his Department leads on the development of the new concept
and the roll out of any eIdentity solution design, and that Departments
will roll out their eIdentity solutions in accordance with that
design.
4.16 Looking ahead, there are four months
between now and when Council Conclusions are due to be adopted.
We would like the Minister to write to us before the Council meeting
to outline how the questions raised by the Scottish Executive
have been addressed, and how the interests of all parts of the
United Kingdom are safeguarded in the prospective conclusions.
4.17 In the meantime we shall retain the document
under scrutiny.
16 See http://ec.europa.eu/eu2020/pdf/COMPLET%20EN%20BARROSO%20%20%20007%20-%20Europe%202020%20-%20EN%20version.pdf
for details. Back
17
See http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/index_en.htm
for full background. Back
18
See headnote: (31368) 9981/10: HC 428-i (2010-11), chapter 28
(8 September 2010). Back
19
eGovernment Action Plan 2006; for full information, see http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/egovernment/library/index_en.htm.
Back
20
See http://www.egov2009.se/wp-content/uploads/Ministerial-Declaration-on-eGovernment.pdf
for the text of the Declaration. This built on the previous bi-annual
Ministerial meetings of Brussels in 2001, Como in 2003, Manchester
in 2005 and Lisbon in 2007. See http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/egovernment/library
for further information. Back
21
Which we consider at chapter 5 of this Report. Back
22
Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering
hosted services over the Internet. These services are broadly
divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS),
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).
The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol often
used to represent the Internet in flow charts and diagrams. A
cloud service has three distinct characteristics that differentiate
it from traditional hosting: it is sold on demand, typically by
the minute or the hour; it is elastic - a user can have as much
or as little of a service as they want at any given time; and
the service is fully managed by the provider (the consumer needs
nothing but a personal computer and Internet access).
Back
23
The term 'skunk works' is used to describe an autonomous team
or project that operates outside an organisation's established
structure. It was coined by US engineering company Lockheed Martin
to describe its practice of developing fighter jets rapidly and
with no formal contract in place. See http://www.publicservice.co.uk/news_story.asp?id=14927
for further information on Government ICT Skunkworks. Back
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