A Service Transformation Team is being set up within the Government Digital Service (GDS) to look at the improvement of priority services and whole public sector transformation.
The move is among the changes in structure that have seen GDS become the digital centre of government body within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and has been outlined in the newly published Blueprint for modern digital government.
It will initially be a small, multi-disciplinary team within GDS that will be aimed at joining up systems across government departments more effectively.
At a briefing with Minister for Digital Government Feryal Clark, it was explained that at the moment departments do not necessarily have infrastructures or incentives to save people from having to repeat the information they provide to different government bodies when they need to access multiple services.
Smoothing the processes
“We’re looking to bring together teams from across the different government departments to look at how we smooth the processes so the citizens only have to tell their story once, and that services are able to be responsive and timely,” Clark said. “It’s so services can see what that citizen has said and what their problems are.”
She added: “It’s trying to find ways to streamline the services and make sure the access is easier.”
Initially the team will be drawn from within GDS, but working closely with teams in other departments, notably the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department of Health and Social Care.
Clark indicated that there will be an early effort in working with DWP to see they can support people in getting back into work.
Other changes in structure outlined in the programme document include bringing GDS, the Central Digital and Data Office and the Incubator for AI together into one body, and expanding its scope to support the joining up of services across the wider public sector, beginning with local government and the NHS.
It will also work towards an account management structure to enable more strategic partnerships with government departments and other partners.
