The government had a lot to say about the future of public services in the Open Public Services white paper published this week. Some of it was new, a lot was familiar, but it's quite radical in intent and in some areas its vision – particularly that of a horde of neighbourhood councils eager to take over services – could easily prove to be a pipedream. Within all this there are a few implications for the future of IT in public services.
Firstly, it's unlikely that much of it will go into new hands. The white paper acknowledges that some services are natural monopolies that should stay in state hands, which implies the relevant IT systems will remain under government control. Also, even if third sector and community groups are ready to take on some local services, they won't have the money for serious investments in IT. The coordination of services and increased pressure to collaborate with other authorities reinforces the need for a council, or other agency, to remain as the prime information manager and retain control of keys systems.
So little change in that respect, but other elements of the paper suggest that new capabilities will be needed. The paper calls for more payment by results for service providers, greater use of data on user-satisfaction and ensuring that "funding follows people's choices". It all entails an integration of data on performance, personal and financial data that will be a serious challenge for any authority.
It also says that key data on user-satisfaction and performance will have to be easily accessible in the public domain, and points towards a single data list for local government to be published next April. While this will demand some work in auditing and making data available, the paper does promise this will be a "line in the sand" for central demands on new data requirements from local government.
There's nothing to point towards big new procurements, but plenty of work in bringing together information flows and making sure the datasets are in good shape. This will be more the case for any authorities – and there are likely to be a few – in which third or private sector groups step forward to become providers.
If there is a big single project, it will be the creation of a digital marketplace for digital transactions and information services by the Government Digital Service (GDS). It's an idea which is attractive but doesn't have much definition at the moment, as so few of the charities, social enterprises and mutuals have any track record in providing digital services. Only the private sector providers are likely be well prepared, which stokes up the sceptics' argument that the paper is a smokescreen for increased privatisation.
It is too early to judge the viability of a digital marketplace, but it is likely to depend on who comes forward rather than the efforts of the GDS.
There's no big bang for IT in all of this, and it could all be quite fragmented by geography and the nature of services, but it could pose some significant challenges for IT teams in the next few years.
Mark Say is editor of Guardian Government Computing
