Digital government services deliver strong citizen returns. By now, it is a well-established view that the coronavirus pandemic has necessitated a greater number of people to use online services and has created demand for more. Digital services can improve both access to and the quality of the services that government offers if implemented correctly.
SATISFACTION WITH ONLINE SERVICES
Our survey suggests that government is performing well on both fronts. It found that 60% of respondents were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the last time they used online services provided by a central government department.
This is welcome. The quality and number of online government services is already revolutionising the way that citizens engage with the government and the services it provides, making services quicker and easier to access. Some 71% of respondents said they felt confident accessing government and services online. This suggests that the gov.uk approach of prioritising clarity and ease of use for services is clearly paying dividends and has the potential to remove the bureaucracy from the routine interactions with government services.
In fact, this confidence and consumer satisfaction with services has created demands for government to do more. Most respondents wanted more online services from government – from expanding online passport applications and online DVLA services – and so this enthusiasm should be taken as an endorsement of government’s approach.
QUESTIONS OVER DATA SECURITY
There are warnings for government here too. When it came to the security of their data, 47% of our respondents said they were unsure or unconfident about government keeping their data secure. In a certain sense, this is unsurprising. The public view of government data sharing is shaped by culture (Hollywood movies about shadowy government operations), the behaviour of other governments (Singapore using its covid app for law enforcement and the Philippines losing personal data of all registered voters) and the government’s own failings (a general sense of chaos around Test & Trace in England, such as the “pingdemic”). No wonder people told our survey their trust is low.
47% OF OUR RESPONDENTS SAID THEY WERE UNSURE OR UNCONFIDENT ABOUT GOVERNMENT KEEPING THEIR DATA SECURE.
This points to a broader dilemma for government for how it uses and stores our data. On the one hand, the volume, and types of data that government collects on us is increasing and will continue to increase as the demand for online services grows. As it does so, this has the potential to revolutionise the services we use if data is shared and used to good effect across government departments, executive agencies, and trusted third parties. But, on the other, there are legitimate concerns about ensuring that our data is stored and used safely and for the purposes for which we intend.
Government’s record on this is mixed. The National Data Strategy encourages sharing of public datasets for the public good, but there’s too little in it about specific steps to improve trust in the accuracy of the datasets or the fairness of the ways it is shared and processed. In fact, the “Data – a new direction” consultation focuses on removing General Data Protection Regulation requirements rather than improving the ways data quality can be assured and communicated.
NEXT STEPS FOR GOVERNMENT
This need not be a dilemma. With the right systems and policies in place, government can store data safely and securely. This requires taking a bolder approach to data privacy. There are many places where government can start: treat our public data sets as part of our critical national infrastructure; discuss the data quality spectrum and the appropriateness of using data of different degrees of quality for different purposes; encourage people to use their rights to see and improve their personal data with online portals and information campaigns; publish annual reports; and engage visibly with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Getting this right is crucial for the obvious legal and regulatory reasons. But, to deliver on the promise of more and better online services, government must ensure that, as services expand, public trust in how these services use and process their data grows with them.