Whitehall Urged To Go Paperless

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The introduction of paperless office policies could save central government up to £70 billion by 2020,a new report claims.

According to the Policy Exchange think tank, a modernisation of government offices could help to cut costs in a wide array of means, which would include greater digitisation, smarter working with fewer staff based in central London, more shopping around for the best deals in procurement and greater use of data.

Its report called Smaller, Better, Faster, Stronger has said the widespread use of paper is a waste of money. It points to bodies like the Crown Prosecution Service as major offenders, with an output of a million sheets a day. others include the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Authority, who handle two HGV loads of paper every day.

The thinktank has concluded that in a country where using the internet is the norm and in which six out of ten people access the web via a smartphone, far more use should be made of electronic data. It argued that paper can be avoided, except in those rare circumstances where face-to-face meetings are unavoidable.

In order to offer more online services, greater training of staff is required, according to the report. Its survey found only half of those in positions of leadership at Whitehall know what kind of tools are needed to work well, more than a third of public sector staff believe their workplace technology lags behind what they have at home and nearly four out of ten believe more access to the net can help increase productivity.

The report is not wholly critical of the government and praises steps taken so far to increase digitisation and the use of internet-based services. This is noted by its author, former Treasury official Chris Yiu.

However, he said, keeping pace is another matter, remarking: "The public sector has historically been slower and less effective when it comes to taking advantage of technology, data and the internet. The web is already inseparable from most people's day-to-day lives and this will only increase in the years ahead. Switching to digital for everything the government does would generate billions of pounds worth of savings that could be used to cut the deficit or improve public services.

"Government is changing, but the world around it is changing faster. With the internet all around us, it's reasonable to expect government to embrace digital. Our public leaders need to rise to the challenge or risk a chasm between new and old tearing the whole system apart."

Former senior policy advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron Rohan Silva, agrees. He noted in the report that the move to digitisation came from a "standing start" in 2010 and praised developments like gov.uk – launched on time and within budget despite substantial "inertia and bureaucratic opposition" – which won the 2013 Design of the Year award. Even so, he noted, there is much more that can be done.

However, if improving public finances is something that can be achieved through such large cost savings, now is the time when the positive pressure for such developments will be at its strongest. After all, Whitehall waste was one of themes highlighted by ministers in the coalition government after it came into office. David Cameron talked in the House of Commons about money being squandered on office 'peace pods' for staff to relax in, while communities secretary Eric Pickles used his 2010 Conservative conference speech to reveal how many pens emblazoned with the words 'Office of the Deputy Prime Minister' John Prescott had left behind.

If such things are to be the subject of ridicule, it may equally be the case that any failure of a government to switch to more cost-effective data systems will open them up to future criticism. This will not just be about avoiding waste in an age of austerity, as issues of being green (by avoiding excess paperwork) and making services faster and more efficient will also be key criteria by which the performance of Whitehall will be judged.

To achieve all this may take time and effort, but the benefits of doing so may be substantial enough to ensure progress continues to be made – despite the resistance of some within the system.

Storetec News/Blogs. "http://www.storetec.net/news-blog/whitehall-urged-to-go-paperless/". Whitehall Urged To Go Paperless. September 9, 2012. Storetec.