Lib Dems call for government to promote ICT usage

That’s among key recommendations of a policy document – Preparing the Ground: Stimulating Growth in the Digital Economy – published at the party conference in Birmingham this week, which also calls for tighter regulation over Cloud Computing to prevent “abuse”. 

 

Encouraging greater use of ICT is essential, says the document, but this also demands new ways of thinking: “There are many more things we can do to make life easier for those who want to use IT to create and to innovate. There is a tendency to see a very clear distinction between ‘companies that use IT’ and ‘IT companies’, but we consider this a false distinction. 

 

“IT has an enabling role which will empower all companies, whether strictly ‘technological’ or not, to become more efficient and innovative in producing and delivering their product. A company which refuses to think carefully about IT will be a company that fails.”

 

The benefits of wider ICT enablement extend to the macro-economic level, the Lib Dem policy states: “We believe that there will be considerable related benefits to local, regional and national economies. Chief among these is connectivity – IT enables a far more collaborative approach to business…We also believe that IT has the potential to reduce substantially the regional divide between the economic powerhouse that is London and the South East – including the East of England and its ‘Silicon Fen’ – and the rest of the country.”

 

Getting more entrepreneurs involved in pitching for government business is already a coalition policy, but the Lib Dems want to see more action on this front. “We recommend that the government continue to prioritise the growth of small and medium-sized businesses,” urges the policy document. “We must change the culture that has allowed a few large IT providers to become the ‘safe choice’ for public procurement by introducing a presumption in favour of small businesses. The coalition government has introduced an aspiration that 25% of all government contracts should be awarded to small businesses, but we believe that in IT procurement this could be increased yet further.”

 

The Lib Dems also want to see a broadening of the definition of ‘IT companies’ in the context of tax credits for research and development (R&D), arguing that while these have been very successful, they are often limited in the IT field, with “a narrow line drawn as to what counts as digital innovation”. 

 

There’s also some concern that the process of applying for such credits is “too onerous” to apply for by smaller firms. The Lib Dems want to see an approach that “indicates the research that we would like to see undertaken, and builds those preferences into the R&D system, so that smaller companies can benefit. At present, entrepreneurs find it too difficult to convince investors to take the risk.”

 

To enable the digital economy, the Lib Dems recognise the need for greater broadband inclusion and while arguing that the coalition has made some progress on this front, adds that there needs to be a greater ambition in place. 

“We recommend that the government accelerate and improve roll-out of faster broadband by increasing its own promotion of online government services, as this will offer the industry an incentive to invest in network development,” the party states. “Access to broadband should be co-funded by government and industry under long-term contracts that will survive government change and offer policy consistency. 

 

“New technologies will also provide options for faster connectivity, especially in rural areas,” it adds. “Another important area for development is in the provision of free wi-fi in city centres and residential areas, particularly those with a high proportion of social housing. In order to achieve this we would encourage collaboration between local government and industry, with the aim of drawing public attention to local businesses and services.”

 

The policy document concludes with a rallying cry for the innovators and the entrepreneurs. “As the UK moves out of recession and towards growth, we have an exciting opportunity to create a new, more sustainable economy,” it argues. “The transition from tangible to intangible good has implications wider than simple technological issues, having a bearing on transport, the environment, our communities and our jobs. 

 

“These proposals are designed to set the UK on a path that stimulates innovation and sustainable growth, rather than choking it off at the source in a vain attempt to prop up defunct business models.”