The Welsh Government has announced a £4.9 million investment to improve the country’s digital public services.
It said the money will be directed through the Centre for Digital Public Services, which was set up last year, to support specialised training programmes and ‘digital squads’ to work with public sector organisations on increasing their knowledge and raising the quality of services.
It added that the decision has been influenced by the increased need during the Covid-19 pandemic to access public services online, and that the aim is to make the experience as user-friendly for the public as online shopping or banking.
Provision of the funding is part of the Welsh Government’s Digital Strategy for Wales, for which it is currently gathering suggestions.
Deputy Minister for Economy, Lee Waters said: “It is crucial that our public services evolve to meet the changing expectations of the people who need and use them, and that they are as simple to use and intuitive as many of the services we access when we are online shopping or providing our energy meter readings.
“We want people to be able to easily access the services they want through a few clicks of the mouse or taps of the screen. This means ensuring that first class digital services become the norm in our public services and this investment in skills, leadership and standards will be key to helping us achieve that goal.”
Sally Meecham, chief executive of the Centre for Digital Public Services, said: “This will allow us to work with colleagues across the public sector in Wales and our ever growing network of partners, suppliers and stakeholders to deliver inclusive and accessible public services and ensure the people that design and deliver the services have the right skills, capability, ambition and support.”
Image from iStock, Natalie Mis
