None of the parties regard e-business as critical to their main
campaign. But I think the following four issues will be vital in
the lifetime of the next parliament (whatever its hue).
Facilitate broadband roll-out in remote areas
Create a
situation in which it is commercially attractive for providers to
roll out broadband connectivity to smaller towns and the
countryside. The key factor is likely to be aggregating the
government's own demand for such connectivity (for schools, GPs,
pharmacies, libraries, police stations etc...) so that it focuses
on single providers in particular areas (zonal procurement), which
will help to create "critical mass". I am working on this - through
the IoD - with Scottish ministers and Patricia Hewitt's Broadband
Stakeholders Group.
Establish stronger incentives for new investment
Conventional "tax breaks" don't work well for start-up companies
making losses. It is important to support these start-ups better.
Improve general IT literacy
Build on the success of the European Computer Driving Licence
(ECDL) training initiative, which the IoD strongly
supports. Perhaps there might be an e-business driving licence or
an e-security licence?
Strike a balance between sharing information and personal
privacy
Establish a consensus on the balance between
sharing information (for example between government departments)
and personal privacy. Law enforcement does face some difficult
challenges from e-business. Criminals are always keen to adapt new
tools to old crimes! New powers, however, must be proportionate to
the threat. They must not place unreasonable demands on privacy or
excessive burdens on business. Arguments about access to encryption
keys and for ISPs to hold records of traffic data for up to seven
years rumble on.
Jim Norton is head of e-business policy at the IoD. He
chairs the Broadband Research Group under Patricia Hewitt and is on
the advisory board of the Parliamentary Office of Science and
Technology.