The world doesn't stand still - it is transforming all the time and
at a rapid pace. The Chinese economy, with wages at 5% of ours, is
growing rapidly. India and China are producing 125,000 computer
science graduates every year - more than twice the whole of the EU.
In the 1980s, less than 10% of the UK's manufacturing imports came
from developing countries. Today it is almost 30%, and in 20 years'
time it will be about 50%. Clearly, we as a nation face a major
challenge.
Businesses and government have both had to develop their approach
to ICT and become more sophisticated users. The challenge is to
help many more businesses and especially small organisations
understand the benefits of exploiting ICT. ICT has to be integrated
throughout the organisation and throughout the supply chain.
That offers a better return on investment. But it also poses new
challenges. It means a business not only identifying its
technological needs, but addressing also business processes,
people, organisation, culture. Focusing just on the technology
reduces the benefits. But when it is done right, e-business can
increase productivity, enhance competitiveness and stimulate
innovation.
And that is why it is so important. As a nation, we have for a long
time lagged behind on productivity, and doing something about that
is top of our agenda. We have closed the productivity gap in key
sectors. In 1984, the US, Germany and France were all more than
twice as productive as the UK in computer services. By 2001, that
gap had virtually disappeared.
Labour wants to make the UK a world leader in digital excellence
with public services that are even more responsive, personalised
and efficient than the leading companies that have successfully
deployed the internet to serve their customers.
We are committed to ending the digital divide for families with
children, and the prime minister's strategy unit and DTI, in
partnership with industry aim to make the UK a world leader in
digital excellence and the first nation to close the digital
divide. The government is committed to improving accessibility to
technology for the digitally excluded and ease of use for the
disabled. UK businesses are among the most sophisticated users of
ICT in the world. By the end of this summer, 99% of the population
will have access to broadband and the rate of broadband adoption
exceeds the rates of adoption seen for mains electricity, colour TV
and mobile phones.
Last month we announced a "Digital Challenge" prize to be awarded
to a local authority and its partners to give universal on line
access to local public services. The winner will have the
opportunity to demonstrate the ability to transform service
delivery through by using technology to deliver modern services for
modern citizens.
We have also given a firm commitment to give all students the
opportunity to access ICT at home through a low-cost national
laptop and PC leasing scheme. This will help ensure that ICT is
embedded in education to improve the quality of learning and equip
children with skills increasingly essential in the workplace. All
learners will have their own virtual learning space where they can
store and access their work.
And we are committed to working with the IT industry to create the
safest possible online environment, backed by the police,
charities, and the industry. The Home Office announced last month
the establishment of a multi-agency national internet safety centre
to deter criminals targeting children for internet crime and to
reassure parents. And we will work with the banking industry to
make that sector a market leader in terms of online authentication.
We are also pledging further steps towards closing the digital
divide by building on the network of UK Online centres and other
communal access points giving adult learners the support,
incentives and skills they need to make the most of ICT. We are
committed to creating the right environment to stimulate broadband
content, particularly in public procurement. This will set out
guidance on broadband content procurement by the public
sector.
More broadly in public services, we are working to improve delivery
and achieve long-term cost savings by joining up online government
services around the needs of their users, and I look forward to the
opportunity to discuss this with the industry as we publish further
details of our IT strategy for public services later this
year.
Patricia Hewitt is secretary of state for trade and
industry