HMT's actions in response to the Government Digital Strategy
Updated 16 January 2015
© Crown copyright 2015
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-government-digital-strategy-actions/hmts-actions-in-response-to-the-government-digital-strategy
Action 1: Departmental and transactional agency boards will include an active digital leader
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) has a dedicated head of digital communications and departmental digital leader who is also head of communications. He advises the chancellor and senior officials on all communications issues, including digital, and will ensure that digital enjoys a high profile within the department.
Progress during 2013
HMT’s head of communications has continued to serve as the department’s digital leader.
Planned activities in 2014
HMT will continue to provide digital leadership within the department.
Progress during 2014
HMT recruited for a head of digital who will start in 2015. Throughout 2014, the digital team has continued to provide digital leadership within the department.
Planned activities in 2015
The new head of digital will provide digital leadership within the department.
Action 2: Services handling over 100,000 transactions each year will be redesigned, operated and improved by a suitably skilled, experienced and empowered service manager
Service managers will be in place for new and redesigned transactions from April 2013.
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
This is not applicable to HMT as it is not a transactional department.
Progress during 2013
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Planned activities in 2014
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Progress during 2014
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Planned activities in 2015
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Action 3: All departments will ensure that they have appropriate digital capability in-house, including specialist skills
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
HMT will deploy a training plan which ensures that all its communications professionals have core digital skills. It will not add in-house developing resource as it is not cost-effective to do so, but will look to share expertise with other government departments where practical, or commission Government Digital Service (GDS) where appropriate.
Progress during 2013
HMT has carried out digital awareness sessions across the department.
Planned activities in 2014
HMT is committed to improving digital literacy across the department through further training sessions.
Progress during 2014
HMT ran digital awareness sessions across the department, with training and awareness sessions for individual teams. New IT equipment was introduced across the department.
HMT worked with GDS to issue new guidance on business cases for agile projects.
Planned activities in 2015
HMT will run training workshops to raise its civil servants’ digital literacy.
Action 4: Cabinet Office will support improved digital capability across departments
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Progress during 2013
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Planned activities in 2014
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Progress during 2014
This action is not applicable to HMT
Planned activities in 2015
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Action 5: For transactional departments, 3 exemplar services will be selected
Redesign starting April 2013, implemented by March 2015 (to be included in relevant business plans). Following this, departments will redesign all services handling over 100,000 transactions each year.
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
This is not applicable to HMT as it is not a transactional department.
Progress during 2013
HMT has been working with GDS to agree guidance on taking agile activities through the business case process.
Planned activities in 2014
HMT will produce revised business case guidance for agile development.
Progress during 2014
HMT is not a transactional department so this action is not applicable.
Planned activities in 2015
HMT is not a transactional department so this action is not applicable.
Action 6: From April 2014, all new or redesigned transactional services will meet the Digital by Default Service Standard
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
This is not applicable to HMT as it is not a transactional department.
Progress during 2013
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Planned activities in 2014
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Progress during 2014
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Planned activities in 2015
This action is not applicable to HMT
Action 7: Corporate publishing activities of all 24 central government departments will move onto GOV.UK by March 2013, with agency and arm’s length bodies’ online publishing to follow by July 2014
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
HMT’s website will close during 2013 and the websites of its arm’s length bodies (ALBs) in early 2014. This presents a unique opportunity to:
- move away from a content management system and website platform which is no longer fit for purpose
- move its content to a new, cost-neutral platform which will be better focused on the needs of its audiences
- include new content which is better in quality and greater in ambition than it currently offers
Progress during 2013
HMT website fully transitioned to GOV.UK in 2013 and its ALBs have been working with GDS to transition to GOV.UK.
Planned activities in 2014
HMT’s ALB websites are due to transition to GOV.UK in 2014.
Progress during 2014
All agreed agency and ALB websites transitioned to GOV.UK by the end of the year.
Planned activities in 2015
HMT will continue to review its GOV.UK content.
Action 8: Departments will raise awareness of their digital services so that more people know about them and use them
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.
Action 9: We will take a cross-government approach to assisted digital
This means that people who have rarely or never been online will be able to access services offline, and we will provide additional ways for them to use the digital services.
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
HMT supports the commitments behind the Government Digital Strategy to ensure that all citizens have equal opportunities to access key services and transactions and that no-one is left behind in this move to a digital by default approach.
Progress during 2013
HMT has supported cross-government work on assisted digital.
Planned activities in 2014
HMT will continue to support the cross-government work on assisted digital.
Progress during 2014
HMT continued to support cross-government work on assisted digital.
Planned activities in 2015
HMT will continue to support cross-government work on assisted digital.
Action 10: Cabinet Office will offer leaner and more lightweight tendering processes, as close to the best practice in industry as our regulatory requirements allow
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
While HMT does not offer digital transactional services, it will adapt its procurement processes if appropriate to take advantage of the new leaner and more lightweight tendering processes developed by Cabinet Office.
Progress during 2013
HMT has supported the development of leaner and more lightweight tendering processes.
Planned activities in 2014
HMT will continue to support the development of leaner and more lightweight tendering processes.
Progress during 2014
HMT has continued to support the development of leaner and more lightweight tendering processes.
Planned activities in 2015
HMT will continue to support the development of leaner and more lightweight tendering processes.
Action 11: Cabinet Office will lead in the definition and delivery of a new suite of common technology platforms which will underpin the new generation of Digital by Default services
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 during 2014
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Planned activities in 2015
This action is not applicable to HMT
Action 12: Cabinet Office will continue to work with departments to remove legislative barriers which unnecessarily prevent the development of straightforward and convenient digital services
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 during 2014
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Planned activities in 2015
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Action 13: Departments will supply a consistent set of management information (as defined by the Cabinet Office) for their transactional services
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
This is not applicable to HMT as it is not a transactional department.
Progress during 2013
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Planned activities in 2014
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Progress during 2014
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Planned activities in 2015
This action is not applicable to HMT.
Action 14: Policy teams will use digital tools and techniques to engage with and consult the public.
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
HMT will make greater use of the GDS consultation tools matrix to find tools that are suitable for the department. It will also use channels such as Twitter and Facebook to help canvas opinions from those affected by its policies.
Progress during 2013
The HMT board has signed off a new engagement strategy.
Planned activities in 2014
HMT’s new engagement strategy will be piloted and rolled out across government departments. It will harness both the relatively high levels of digital literacy in the department and the increasing popularity of its online channels to improve the way it consults and engages. It will support officials to bring the tools they use in their everyday lives into the workplace to help them listen and consult, while managing the risks around proprietary and IT issues.
Progress during 2014
HMT piloted its engagement programme by using new digital channels and methods, such as surveys and more use of social media channels to consult with a wider audience. The digital team has been aided by the introduction of new IT equipment across the department, which gives greater access to digital channels.
Work still needs to done to build on and improve how the department engages and the new head of digital will continue this work in 2015. Treasury teams began using agile team structures within policymaking
Planned activities in 2015
HMT’s new head of digital will lead work to improve how the department engages with users.
Action 15: Collaborate with partners across public, private and voluntary sectors to help people go online
Action 15 was added to the Digital Strategy in December 2013, so reporting on departmentsí actions will begin with 2014.
Progress during 2014
HMT has continued to support the cross-government work on digital inclusion.
Planned activities in 2015
HMT will continue to support the cross-government work on digital inclusion. Policy teams are encouraged to consider digital inclusion at the early stages of the policy development process.
Action 16: Help third party organisations create new services and better information access for their own users by opening up government data and transactions
Action 16 was added to the Digital Strategy in December 2013, so reporting on departmentsí actions will begin with 2014.
Progress during 2014
HMT has continued to support the cross-government work on open formats for documents.
Planned activities in 2015
HMT will continue to support the cross-government work on open formats for documents.