Politicians track POI!
The UK Cabinet Office Power of information task force’s beta version of the progress report is open for comment. The Power of Information Task force announcement on the beta version of the report states:
“Report Delivery
We have now produced a beta version of our report back to Government.
This will be open for comments for 2 weeks and we will then make any final edits based on the feedback before presenting this to our sponsoring Minister, Tom Watson MP.
It has been an interesting exercise over the last few weeks putting the report together on a wiki and thenpublishing it using blogging software (more WordPress) tailored to allow commenting. As a separate exercise we may document the Taskforce’s own working practices for others in government to learn from these (both the positives and the negatives).”
Over recent months UK Politicians have raised questions both written and oral regarding the extent of the Power of Information Task force likely recommendations which provides an interesting insight into the role of elected politicians with respect to the re-use of public sector information whether that be for profit or otherwise!
Parliamentary material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO on behalf of Parliament
“4 Jan 2009 : Column 197
Oral Answers to Questions
Duchy of Lancaster
The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster was asked—
Power of Information Task Force
1. Derek Wyatt (Sittingbourne and Sheppey) (Lab): What steps his Department is taking to encourage greater consultation with individuals and local communities on shaping public policy and services through its work on the power of information task force. [246511]
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Tom Watson): As the web approaches its 20th anniversary, we can all see that the internet is driving changes in expectations about Government, business and social life—changes that large institutions of all kinds have struggled to cope with in the past. However, the fog of uncertainty about how the internet can help us all is starting to lift, and we know that the public expect us to try a lot harder than simply putting online what was once offline. The power of information task force has been finding out about how smarter engagement with the net can lead to new expectations about Government. That will be led and informed by the public.
Derek Wyatt: I am sure that I do not have to tell my hon. Friend how important nationally social networking sites are, but I wonder whether he has pondered how important they are locally, especially for MPs? May I persuade him to think about creating a FTSE 100 of social networking sites that do brilliant things locally? [Interruption.] Perhaps he could also borrow from the e-inclusion awards in Vienna, and create annual awards for e-inclusion in the United Kingdom. [Interruption.]
Mr. Watson: I fear that a few of our analogue representatives on the Conservative Benches are not great enthusiasts for my hon. Friend's suggestion, but I think that it is a wonderful idea, and I shall consult my Twitter community to see how best we can do what he suggests.
Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD): Is the Minister aware of mySociety's five priorities for how the Government deal with the internet, particularly those concerning
14 Jan 2009 : Column 198
how the Government can free up data, create large-scale e-consultations, and open up a variety of Departments and public bodies to the internet for constituents to interface with? [Interruption.] Will the Minister listen to those experts, and make sure that their innovative techniques are used to open up government properly?
Mr. Watson: The hon. Lady is somewhat enlightened on this issue, and perhaps we can work together to show some of our colleagues on the Conservative Benches how we can embrace mySociety's five points. If we are all honest with each other, we can see that the work that mySociety has done to introduce digital tools to make this House more transparent and accountable has improved our work. I read the five-point plan on the mySociety blog last week, and I did not disagree with a word of it. We might not have achieved its aims, but we will certainly work towards them.”
“Public Information
3. Mr. Jim Cunningham (Coventry, South) (Lab): What recent steps the Government have taken to improve online access to public information. [246513]
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Tom Watson): The Government are systematically improving access to their services by ensuring that information and services are found through search engines, that there are fewer but higher-quality websites so that users can get to what they need, and that the websites are accessible and more usable.
As the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson) mentioned in her question, the greatest social and economic value is achieved when we open up public
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information. The power of information task force has been working with the Office of Public Sector Information, the Central Office of Information and Government Departments to make public data easier to find, easier to understand and easier to reuse.”
"Power of Information Taskforce4. Mr. Jim Cunningham (Coventry, South) (Lab): What recent progress the Power of Information Taskforce has made; and if he will make a statement. [234797]
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Tom Watson): The Power of Information Taskforce was set up in April to embrace Web 2.0 technologies. In particular, we look into how we can encourage people to innovate
12 Nov 2008 : Column 757
with non-personal information, and how government can take part in online conversations in the public services.
Mr. Cunningham: Given that the west midlands leads the way in digital technology, what is the taskforce doing to develop that technology, particularly to assist public services?
Mr. Watson: My hon. Friend is right. A number of agencies in the west midlands pioneer digital technologies. I commend to him the taskforce’s Show Us a Better Way competition; he can type “Power of Information Taskforce” into any search engine to find the details.
We believe that citizens can help the Government to design public services in a better way, and that co-production is the way forward. So far 450 people have entered the competition, and I am pleased to say that it has been a tremendous success. People as far away as the United States of America, India and Australia have followed our example.
Mr. Mark Todd (South Derbyshire) (Lab): Reports have repeatedly shown that Government data provide a valuable base for added-value product development in the private sector, and that regulating private sector providers appropriately, educating them better on the assets that they hold and a more liberal approach will build new business. Does my hon. Friend agree?
Mr. Watson: I entirely agree. There is no doubt that our advance towards freeing up data and making existing public sector information more accessible to our digital entrepreneurs enables them to add value to the United Kingdom economy, and I hope very much that Government policy will take us in that direction.
Mr. James Gray (North Wiltshire) (Con): I am glad that the Government have a Power of Information Taskforce, but does the Minister agree that, in addition to power, great risks are involved in the holding of too much information electronically?
In his answer to my right hon. Friend the Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory), the Minister said that he could not possibly announce the number of electronic security breaches, but then went on to say how proud he was of having been so open and transparent about the issue. Will he now undertake to inform the House every time there is a such a breach?
Mr. Watson: I do not think it would be helpful to reveal to the hon. Gentleman the nature of the attacks that are made on Government IT systems, although I can assure him that they are investigated thoroughly. When it comes to changing the culture, it is important for us to reveal incidences of data loss so that the public and private sectors can learn from the mistakes that have been made. I remind the hon. Gentleman that the Power of Information Taskforce deals only with non-personal data.”
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