An estimated 35 per cent of jobs in the United Kingdom are at risk of being automated over the next 20 years. The effects of the digital revolution can already be felt in manufacturing, retail, in public services and the creative industries. Online-only services for government, new services like Uber, streaming content through Spotify or Netflix and the impact of Amazon on the high street all involve fundamental questions about the future of work, productivity and competitiveness.
Against this backdrop of constant and sometimes disruptive technological change, sharper global competition from emerging markets and new ‘agile’ ways of working and doing business, any new government needs sharper public policy tools. The social consequences of not focusing properly on this agenda are enormous: the risk is that this represents a far greater disruption to the labour market than the effects of the banking crisis.
These are the implications of the work of the House of Lords committee on digital skills, chaired by Sally Morgan. Its report, entitled Make or Break: The UK’s Digital Future argues that, ‘The UK is at a tipping point: The country is not addressing its significant digital skills shortage and an incoming government urgently needs to resolve this.’
In short, we need digital leaders and leadership across the board to meet these new challenges.
Future investment decisions are likely to be made on whether there is sufficient hard infrastructure (broadband) and soft infrastructure (locally grown or easily accessible talent). Broadband infrastructure and connectivity are becoming vitally important right across the UK – a role not just for Whitehall, but for local government, regions and devolved administrations. However, there are questions about whether the regulatory model currently being followed by Ofcom is sustainable or capable of delivering continuing competition or investment in the future. The skills supply chain for jobs at all levels is already struggling to deliver and if not improved will present a real barrier to growth and competitiveness.
The report recommends a new approach:
· making digital literacy a core subject at school, alongside English and maths;
· viewing the internet as important as a utility, accessible to all; and,
· putting a single ‘digital agenda’ at the heart of government.
The report also expresses concern that UK regions are falling behind and that change has the potential to alienate and leave people behind as well as provide opportunity. Public policy needs to be joined up and we need to focus on digital leadership at every level of government. As with Labour Digital’s Number one in Digital report last year, Make or Break outlines that current digital activity within government includes four government ministers, a taskforce, a committee, and a unit. The committee argues for the creation of a single digital agenda driven by one cabinet minister.
So too, in my experience, local government leadership on this matter is variable and disjointed. It needs to quickly grasp the agenda not just with internal IT processes and procurement but look at the impact of digital change right across the board. Councils like Milton Keynes, Bristol, Camden, Islington, Sheffield, Newcastle – to name a few – are leading the way but are outliers not the norm.
As a final thought: in the last 18 months there has been much discussion on the left and right about digital change and a series of reports. The voices of the trade unions must be heard in this debate. Given the disruption of the digital revolution and its ability to promote job insecurity as well as new prosperity, questions of leadership must also be focused here.
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Theo Blackwell is cabinet member for finance and technology policy at the London borough of Camden council and a member of the Progress strategy board. He tweets @camdentheo