Government Connect, as with many government IT projects, has
weathered its fair share of controversy since its launch.
The programme, driven by the
Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), aims to transform the
state of public sector data sharing. Officials hope this will
provide a timely answer to the government's information security
woes, in the shape of a cross-government secure network.
The project was met with scepticism from some IT chiefs. Some
still have reservations and most admit there are challenges to
overcome, but a cautious optimism is emerging as the project builds
momentum.
The project will link up all local authorities in England and
Wales to central government departments. It will provide a way of
sharing data that officials hope will consign to history data
nightmares such as HMRC's two discs that were lost in the post a
year ago.
If councils and departments can share information on citizens
across a network, the logic goes, they should no longer need to
share data via post or unsecured e-mail accounts. At first councils
will use the network to share data with DWP on benefits and
pensions payments. In the long term there may be other uses.
The Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government
(IDeA) says councils often act as the "front office" for central
government. They have 80% of all contact with citizens and must
share sensitive customer data with national agencies. The IDeA
website says, "They currently do this in a number of ways - not all
of which are secure."
Council CIOs have their work cut out, with the April 2009
deadline creeping closer. Each local authority has to comply with a
code of connection before being able to join the network, with most
needing work to get their IT security up to the necessary
standard.
Steve Hopson, CIO at Cheshire County Council, says the deadline
is "unlikely to be met" by many authorities, with costs being
prohibitive. "The cost of gaining compliance with the code of
connection is extremely high," he says.
"Many authorities will find they have not budgeted for this." He
adds that grants available to help support the work are
insufficient and will "merely scratch the surface."
Steve Palmer, head of IT at the London Borough of Hillingdon,
also has concerns. "There is still a lack of clarity in terms of
functionality and costs," he says. "Most local authorities who have
signed up have done so as a result of DWP pressure.
"Anything that improves security and connectivity is to be
welcomed but this project has a chequered history and confidence in
it is lacking."
But although there may be reservations, other IT chiefs insist
that a secure network with problems is better than no network at
all. The Society of IT Managers (Socitm) is throwing its weight
behind the project. Socitm's president Richard Steel, CIO at the
London Borough of Newham, says he is "optimistic with
qualifications" after managers with "a track record of success"
were brought in to lead the project.
The public sector has to stop moving data around in the way that
it does now, he says. It is not technology failures that have
caused the headline-grabbing data losses, but human error, and
efforts must be made to minimise the conditions that lead to
losses.
"We are sticking our noses out a little, but we are throwing our
weight behind the project," Steel said. "Something has to be done
about secure data sharing. There are undoubtedly challenges, but we
all have to work together to make Government Connect a
success."
Glyn Evans, who leads the IT transformation programme at
Birmingham City Council, shares the optimism. It may be hard to
come up with a business case for a project like this, but he says
the benefits will become clear. "Over the next couple of years, new
ways of using it will emerge, and the network will improve data
security," he says. "The project has taken a long time to get to
where it is now, but we have got something that has potential."