Policy paper

Action 8: departments will raise awareness of their digital services so that more people know about them and use them

Updated 16 January 2015

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

This action forms part of the Government Digital Strategy.

Here’s how departments are responding to this action:

The Attorney General’s Office

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

The Law Officers’ departments are raising awareness of their digital services as part of the migration to GOV.UK.

Progress during 2013

Law Officers’ departments only have small number of low-volume digital services but are looking to improve these to increase awareness as part of the transition of departmental websites to GOV.UK.

Planned activities in 2014

Law Officers’ departments will look to improve their digital services to increase awareness as part of the transition of departmental websites to GOV.UK.

Progress during 2014

Law Officers’ departments only have a small number of low-volume digital services. They are looking to improve these to increase awareness as part of the transition of departmental websites to GOV.UK.

Planned activities in 2015

Law Officers’ departments will look to improve their digital services to increase awareness of GOV.UK.

Cabinet Office

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

A digital service promotion plan will be defined for each of the 3 exemplar transactions (ERTP, Public appointments, and Honours and appointments), and the plan forms a template for future digital services.

Progress during 2013

Cabinet Office has a single exemplar service, the Electoral Registration Transformation Programme (ERTP). It includes a programme of work to engage users to move to digital formats, developed in partnership with GDS.

Planned activities in 2014

As the ERTP programme develops, a promotion plan will continue to be developed. Other transactional services in Cabinet Office will be prioritised for reform.

Progress during 2014

Over the last quarter, Cabinet Office Digital and Technology Team (CODATT) worked with GDS to provide consistent advice to all service managers so communications and marketing plans were included in all digital proposals.

The ERTP’s online registration service, Individual Electoral Registration (IER) went live in June. A campaign of local mailshots and marketing accompanied the launch of IER to ensure that citizens were aware of the service. By the end of the year it had received over 2 million applications.

The department redesigned the Honours and appointment service (HAS) so that people will eventually be able to digitally submit and manage their own nominations. They also developed a strategic communication plan to support channel shift, and raised awareness of assisted digital options. The HAS communications plan targets sections of the population audience where current awareness or take-up of the nomination service was low.

Planned activities in 2015

Cabinet Office will continue to support increased digital take-up of its exemplar services.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) will improve the usability of existing digital services to improve customer satisfaction (programmes are underway in the SLC and Companies House). It will also provide digital services where they do not currently exist (eg for many Insolvency Service and IPO transactions) as well as promoting digital channels to customers and stakeholders.

Progress during 2013

The exemplar services offer a range of opportunities to expand the usability and profile of digital services. In addition there has been work across BIS agencies and ALBs to improve services and increase digital take up. For example, Companies House is planning to reach 100% digital service enablement and the Research Councils are developing a common web platform to make it easier for users to access their services.

Planned activities in 2014

BIS will continue to work with Government Digital Service (GDS) and the exemplar services as they progress through their alpha and beta stages into live running. The department will use these to inform the development and enhancement of digital services across BIS and its agencies and ALBs. BIS will support a network of service managers and senior leaders to raise awareness and share digital knowledge and skills. This will help drive an ambitious programme for digital transformation within the context of wider strategic challenges for BIS and its agencies and ALBs.

Progress during 2014

BIS worked with GDS in its 5 exemplar organisations to ensure the shift to digital services was in line with government strategy and policy.

BIS ensured its network of partner organisations also had access to the latest policy positions and thinking. This included channel shift through consultation and using the BIS Digital Leaders Forum.

Planned activities in 2015

BIS will form a clearer view of potential benefits arising from a shift to digital services. It will work with colleagues across Finance and Commercial Group, including the BIS Major Portfolio Assurance team, to validate these savings. It will use the digital roadmap to achieve this across BIS organisations.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is working to stimulate demand and access to digital services. It also encouraged the public to interact with the department digitally, in formal consultations and day-to-day communications. They used lessons from projects such as the Communications Review and London 2012 to ensure continuous improvement, aiming to be at the forefront of Whitehall digital communication.

Broadband Delivery UK has been supporting local bodies, stimulating demand for superfast broadband among citizens and businesses, alongside the implementation of DCMS’ broadband roll-out programmes.

Progress during 2013

DCMS has made extensive use of digital communication channels over the year. Its recent campaign for City of Culture 2017 was carried out largely on its digital channels, using blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Flickr, with a big focus on two-way interacting. The live video of the announcement of the winner reached 2 million people instantly. In addition, the far-reaching and varied digital engagement approach on equal marriage accrued a large audience and was integral to the success of communicating the policy. Other campaigns, such as the First World War Centenary, are being driven through digital channels and partnerships.

Work is underway to fully integrate digital communications into the department’s press office. Press officers have been using social media on a daily basis to support their work. The department regularly uses online question and answer sessions on its own channels, and those of its partners and stakeholders, to put its ministers directly in touch with the public.

Planned activities in 2014

DCMS will implement a digital engagement strategy and will outline plans for the next 12 months to take the digital engagement capability and output of this department to the next level. It will focus on using digital channels for policymaking, transparency, campaigns and day-to-day two-way interaction with the public.

Progress in 2014

DCMS increased its digital communications output and engagement extensively during 2014 through a number of business and citizen-focused campaigns. For example it used free tools such as Google Maps, YouTube, Vine and LinkedIn to show citizens and businesses where government is rolling out broadband around the UK. It also engaged citizens with a WW1 #LightsOut Thunderclap and #TalkingWW1 tweetathon.

Planned activities in 2015

Throughout 2015 DCMS will encourage engagement through a number of targeted campaigns across its sectors that promote how government is building Britain by stimulating growth.

Department for Education

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

As new or redesigned services go live, the launch and communication activities that support them will be planned by the specific project teams to meet their specific target audiences. The department is also undertaking a channel shift strategy which will result in improved signposting to information and services as part of the move to an enhanced self-serve offer.

Progress during 2013

Department for Education (DfE) has ensured that all services are being developed in an agile way, driven by user needs.

Planned activities in 2014

The channel shift strategy will be delivered in the first quarter of 2014. It’s expected to reduce avoidable contact and see more users using the online services and benefitting from a better user experience.

Progress during 2014

DfE established a new ‘contact us’ form, which pulls together all the individual forms previously used to correspond with DfE, including freedom of information requests, school complaints and general comments, feedback and issues. It is a single entry point for the customer to engage with DfE and its agencies, improving the quality of service and generating significant efficiency and cost savings.

Planned activities in 2015

DfE will continue to develop and implement a channel shift strategy, and to promote it as part of wider work to raise awareness of digital services across the department and its partner organisations.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will take steps to move its customers toward greater use of the digital services it provides. It will consider the use of a broad range of incentives and techniques to move people towards use of its digital channels including raising awareness of digital channels, effective engagement and promotion by staff, and rewarding digital users.

Progress during 2013

Defra is taking a case-by-case approach to moving its customers toward greater use of digital, recognising the distinct audience for its services. Key achievements include an increase in digital uptake of the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) to 54% (up from 40% in 2012).

Planned activities in 2014

Defra intends to continue this progress in 2014 including a further increase in digital update of SPS Online and a target 90% digital uptake for the new system for Registration of Waste Carriers, Brokers and Dealers, up from 70% for current digital registrations.

Progress during 2014

Defra took a case-by-case approach to encouraging customers toward greater use of digital. A notable achievement was an increase in digital uptake of the SPS to 68% (up from 54% in 2013). Defra exceeded its target of 90% digital uptake for the Phase 1 Waste Carriers service (achieving 95% in 2014).

Planned activities in 2015

Defra plans to increase digital take up in 2015, with particular emphasis on the launch of the new digital by default Rural payments (CAP) information service.

Department for International Development

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

Department for International Development (DFID) will communicate with its audiences to encourage them to use digital services when they become available, eg for recruitment and for feedback about how projects are working.

Progress during 2013

DFID’s Digital Developments blog provides updates on its digital activities and is an effective channel, along with its social media accounts, for engaging with people on how it is meeting digital development objectives.

To improve recruitment, DFID has evaluated impact, costs and benefits of its social media use. The department is reaching more potential applicants through better LinkedIn activity and tailored use of social media in its graduate and advisor recruitment campaigns.

DFID has been testing ways to collect feedback from beneficiaries of global development projects, including looking at when and how it is more effective to use technology to do this (eg SMS feedback systems). This should ensure real-time information on results and programme effectiveness to inform decision making.

Planned activities in 2014

DFID will continue to communicate with its audience via its digital developments blog and other social media channels.

Progress during 2014

DFID continued to make use of existing and new social media tools to communicate with the public and stakeholders.

Planned activities in 2015

DFID will continue to make use of existing and new social media tools to communicate with the public and stakeholders.

Department for Transport

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

Department for Transport (DfT) will promote and encourage the use of digital channels, for example through mail outs and leaflets, social media, newsletters, exhibitions, media and press, contact centre call waiting messages and other forms of publicity.

Progress during 2013

DfT continued to promote the use of digital channels through Twitter campaigns, targeting specific demographic groups via YouTube channels and more traditional direct marketing approaches.

Planned activities in 2014

DfT’s activities on raising take up will focus on improving the services and providing assisted digital services rather than increasing awareness. However, campaigns will continue to ensure public awareness is improved.

Progress during 2014

All 3 exemplars have channel shift strategies to encourage greater use of digital channels. Some other services such as Practical driving test booking are achieving digital take up above 90%

The Drivers and Vehicle Licensing Agency will work with intermediaries for Vehicle management and Personal registration to encourage use of digital services at point of vehicle sale and purchase.

DfT continued to raise awareness through the use of blogs and social media. New social media and consultation channels were developed in partnership between digital communication and policy leads to increase stakeholder engagement.

The department was actively involved in the promotion of GOV.UK as a brand by participating in a Thunderclap campaign (#startatGOVUK). It encouraged the public to access government services via GOV.UK to avoid third party providers that can be costly to users.

Planned Activities in 2015

DfT will continue to take part in the promotion of GOV.UK by running campaigns which improve public awareness. DfT will continue to encourage staff to learn and use social media tools to engage with stakeholders.

Department for Work and Pensions

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has plans in place to drive take-up of its existing transactional services, with telephony and face-to-face channels playing a major role in signposting and encouraging people online.

Progress during 2013

For current live online services DWP has been directing customers to those services via telephony agent scripts; online signposting and where necessary via face-to-face, front of house staff. This approach has proven to be successful in the case of Jobseeker’s Allowance online, where it achieved the take up target 1 month early.

Planned activities in 2014

In 2014 DWP will continue this approach to build on the take-up rates achieved for all other products.

Progress during 2014

DWP has developed channel shift plans for its live services and these resulted in an increase in take-up. Take-up for State Pensions Online increased to over 30% and Carer’s Allowance digital service take-up means that over half of applicants are now coming in through digital channels. Jobseeker’s Allowance remains at around 85% take-up.

Planned activities in 2015

DWP will continue to pursue channel shift for all its online services. Telephony and face-to-face channels will continue to play a major role in signposting and encouraging people online.

Department of Energy and Climate Change

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) recognises that non-digital channels will remain essential in many cases, particularly given the level of digital engagement within some of their customer groups. It will nonetheless work to raise awareness of digital options and encourage the use of them by those who are able.

Progress during 2013

DECC has been working to raise awareness of digital options and has encouraged the use of these by those who are able. DECC-owned communication channels, particularly social media networks and the web, have been used to raise awareness of digital services.

Planned activities in 2014

DECC will promote digital services alongside offline equivalents. DECC will also work with key stakeholders to further raise the profile of digital services among relevant audience groups.

Progress during 2014

DECC promoted digital services alongside offline equivalents and worked with important stakeholders to raise the profile of digital services among relevant audience groups.

Planned activities in 2015

DECC will continue to raise awareness and encourage digital options.

Department of Health

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

Department of Health (DH) is committed to ensuring the accessibility of all its digital channels and where necessary producing alternative formats of policy and corporate material for those unable to access them online. The department will also support the NHS to partner with organisations that help those that are unable to use digital channels to manage their health to do so, in line with the cross-government approach to assisted digital.

Progress during 2013

DH and the health and care system are fully represented on the cross-government Digital Inclusion Sub-Group. The department’s policy is for digital first, rather than by default. Face-to-face contact with its health and care professionals when appropriate will remain an essential, core part of its care.

DH has acknowledged that there is a large overlap between those who are digitally excluded and those most in need of NHS services. To address this NHS England has launched a Widening Digital Participation Project to address the need for assisted digital and increased digital health literacy. The tender was won by the Tinder Foundation (formerly UK Online Centres) who will focus on engaging 100,000 people who are most affected by digital and health inequalities, of whom 50,000 will be trained in using health information online.

It is estimated that the additional NHS healthcare costs associated with inequalities is in excess of £5.5 billion a year. Through this project, the department aims to both reduce health inequalities and generate economic savings.

Planned activities in 2014

Assisted digital and consideration of people of who has never or rarely been online will continue to be central to the department’s approach to digital. DH will assess the success of the Widening Digital Participation project, which is designed to be fully scalable and depending on the evaluation will either continue with it or identify new ways of reaching the digitally excluded.

DH will continue to be part of the cross-government Digital Inclusion group. DH will ensure its own and its ALBs’ new or redesigned services meet the assisted digital aspect of the Digital by Default Service Standard.

The Widening Digital Participation Project will build a sustainable Digital Health Information Network of 400 centres which can be mobilised rapidly to reach 100,000 people by March 2014. This network can be scaled to reach more people in future years, depending on available funding. It will also target ultra-specialist groups who face the biggest barriers to digital inclusion and good health, including homeless people, sex workers, gypsy, traveller and black and minority ethnic communities.

Progress during 2014

DH fully supports the cross-government approach to assisted digital. It is currently auditing all existing services to ensure that all digital inclusion needs are accounted for.

Planned activities in 2015

DH will provide assisted digital support for all new or redesigned services, drawing on best practice at the time.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will build encouragement to use digital channels into its project for regional contact centres and continue to promote digital services in consular campaign material.

Progress during 2013

By the end of 2013, 80% of FCO global customer base will be serviced through regional contact centres, with up to 60% of contact being signposted to GOV.UK for self service. The contact centres will also promote GOV.UK as a first point of future and ongoing reference.

Planned activities in 2014

The global contact centre platform will go live in February 2014 and the effective use of digital channels will be a running theme and contact centre priority. The centres will contribute to the promotion of digital services as the department will seek to drive telephone call numbers down and digitally accessed services up.

Progress during 2014

FCO’s global contact centre network already encourages customers to use GOV.UK as a first point of contact on its information and services. It surveyed its customers to find out what is holding them back from using GOV.UK. The results are being used to redesign online services.

Planned activities in 2015

Promotion of online services will remain a major part of the role of FCO’s contact centres. As part of the department’s roadmap implementation, it will be looking at ways to better prioritise customer enquiries. This is so people can quickly find relevant information online and get direct support and assistance where necessary. FCO plans to implement new strategies for assisted digital and to encourage greater use of digital channels.

HM Revenue and Customs

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

HMRC wants its customers to seek out its digital offerings because these have a reputation for being quicker, easier and more convenient to use. Its refreshed channel strategy will also show a mix of mandated and nudge techniques to drive take-up. HMRC will set out plans to encourage channel shift to digital in the departmental business plan for 2013 to 2014.

Progress during 2013

HMRC has been revising its digital strategy to include plans to encourage a channel shift to digital.

The refreshed digital strategy will be completed by February 2014. The savings for digital will be included in departmental business plans from 2014 to 2015 onwards.

Planned activities in 2014

HMRC provide an implementation plan and migration profile which outlines how it will achieve in the spending review 2013 commitments.

The department will continue its work on identifying how it will transition customers to digital through its research and modelling activities and align this with the digital road map.

Progress during 2014

In September HMRC updated their channel shift strategy. The 2-year digital roadmap outlined how they will encourage customers to use new and improved digital services. Take-up plans and projections are in place and being monitored using new monitoring tools such as SPLUNK (a query tool) and Google Analytics. All services have a customer exit survey and users can make queries and give feedback.

Planned activities in 2015

HMRC is working to meet take-up targets to move customers to digital. This will cover new services such as Tax Free Childcare and Tax Allowance for Married Couples projects.

HM Treasury

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

This is not applicable to HMT as it does not offer online services.

Progress during 2013

This action is not applicable to HMT.

Planned activities in 2014

This action is not applicable to HMT.

Progress in 2014

This action is not applicable to HMT.

Planned activities in 2015

This action is not applicable to HMT.

Home Office

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

All proposals for new digital services will include plans for promotion and raising awareness. Levels of awareness and take-up will be regularly monitored as part of the performance monitoring activity that will surround each service and support its development. Where appropriate we will seek to collaborate with other departments/services who are marketing linked services to similar audiences.

Progress during 2013

Home Office has been working with GDS through the exemplar projects to ensure that there is maximum digital uptake.

Planned activities in 2014

Her Majesty’s Passport Office will be working with GDS to support up-take of their digital channels.

Progress during 2014

Home Office worked in all exemplar projects to maximise digital uptake. Digital uptake is an important consideration with users abroad and the Visa service has been translated into simplified Chinese to improve uptake. The number of visa applications received from China between June and October 2014 was approximately 28,100.

Planned activities in 2015

Home Office will continue to work with GDS to build digital take-up considerations into the design of services for citizens and internal users.

In February 2015 the Home Office digital strategy refresh will set out aims for the transparency and promotion of digital services. Home Office will work with other departments and services that are marketing linked services to similar audiences.

Ministry of Defence

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

Directorate of Media and Communications will conduct a review of offline channels and traditional communications media, with a view to closing 90% of all traditional offline channels and plan for a shift to online or digital services.

Progress during 2013

An internal communications review was conducted with a number of printed magazines now only available online.

Planned activities in 2014

A new programme to develop the digital literacy of both military and civilian staff will be launched. It will draw on a range of training and education products from the Defence Academy, Civil Service Learning and other providers. This will be led by the new Digital Transformation team in conjunction with the Human Resources Directorate to focus on new business processes, in line with the Cabinet Office’s ‘The Way We Work’ programme.

Progress during 2014

Ministry of Defence (MOD) held its first ‘Digital Innovation’ awards in London to highlight achievements and defence digital services best practice. Winners included:

• a project which improved MOD’s online HR system (resulting in channel shift and fewer calls to an internal helpline)
• the use of a virtual learning environment to support military personnel through vital professional training

Planned activities in 2015

MOD will encourage service transformation and channel shift by repeating the Digital Innovation awards.

Ministry of Justice

Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) will drive awareness and encourage channel shift through more consistent and sustained communication, and by collaborating with partners and stakeholders. Using digital channels, in particular social media, will allow it to communicate more effectively with all its audiences.

Progress during 2013

MOJ has promoted awareness of digital services by:

• actively publicising its services through a range of channels
• using promotion and signposting where traditional routes into services exist (eg distributing prisoner visit booking promotional material in prisons)
• building service promotion into its visibility and engagement strategy and making effective use of positive coverage in social media

Planned activities in 2014

MOJ will drive forward channel shift with a comprehensive campaign around the range of services. It will release some services into public beta and make others live in the coming year. It will continue to make services so good that people choose to use them.

Progress during 2014

MOJ worked to encourage users to move from traditional to digital channels when using government services. For example, around 35% of users booking a prison visit opted to use digital channels in December, up from 19.2% in August.

Planned activities in 2015

MOJ will continue to improve awareness of the services it offers by working with the press and by participating in events such as Hackathons and a 2015 Sprint Justice event.