The Digital Action Plan

Part of 2. Questions to the Leader of the House and Chief Whip (in respect of her policy responsibilities) – in the Senedd at 2:34 pm on 18 April 2018.

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Photo of Mandy Jones Mandy Jones UKIP 2:34, 18 April 2018

Thank you for that reply. Leader of the house, I attended the cross-party group on hospices and palliative care at the end of last term. There, a barrier to more effective working and communications across disciplines was identified, and that is the inability of the various information technology systems to talk to each other, although I do understand improvements are under way. Only yesterday, during the statement on sexual health services, lack of effective IT systems were highlighted as a problem once again. I appreciate that health systems may not be in your remit, but this has got me thinking about public services innovation, and those services being fit for the present, never mind the future.

My research has led me to read your digital action plan 2017-20, a clear exercise in navel-gazing, if ever I saw one, with one paragraph—29—given to one of the main reasons we are here: our much-valued public services. The trail then led me to the 2012 'digital first' report. This was advice given to the Welsh Government, where leadership, strategy and direction were deemed vital to the future efficient delivery of public services. Now, this is 2018—this is the future. After 20 years of devolution, in a very small nation, can you please outline what leadership, strategy and direction the Welsh Government has shown in this key area?