Chamber and committees

We have no plans for public service providers to make digital television and web-enabled phones available, but we are actively promoting the development of multiple channels of access to public services through support from the Modernising Government Fund and the development of other projects.

The Executive's £1.5 million Digital Champions programme is providing a network of eight digital "champions" to cover all Social Inclusion Partnership areas in Scotland. Their role is to support and develop local digital inclusion initiatives.

The Executive's 21^st Century Government Vision clearly lays out the desirability of exploiting new technology where it delivers improved services. The Executive has sought to encourage debate on new delivery channels and the streamlining of internal processes. The Executive hosted a seminar in October 2001 on call centre technology specifically to share best practice about this citizen focussed service delivery channel. Promoting the e-Government Interoperability Framework is also important in seeking to maximise efficiencies across public bodies.

The Smart Card Policy Working Group (chaired by the Office of the e-Envoy) of which the Scottish Executive is a member, is due to publish a draft smart card framework for consultation in early 2002. This group has taken note of the large number of smart card studies and practical implementation carried out world wide, in the compilation of its consultation document. The Scottish Executive has recently supported a smart card pilot project in Aberdeen and is working with Young Scot on a national project involving a young people's smart card. The Scottish Executive, whilst actively considering the use of smart cards in a number of areas, has no immediate implementation plans.

The Scottish Executive is working within the policy laid out in the UK Government's Authentication framework document in matters relating to authentication and security of electronic transactions over the internet. Authentication and security issues are also highlighted in the draft Information Age Government Framework which will set standards and provide guidance for the public sector.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-21265.

The Executive's strategy for digital inclusion "Connecting Scotland's People" set out a range of actions to raise awareness; improve access; develop skills; and involve communities. These include:A £5 million initiative which will create over 1,000 points that provide access to the web in a wide range of different types of venue. The focus will be on areas where access is currently poor.A £3.5 million initiative to create pilot "digital communities" in two disadvantaged areas by connecting homes to the Internet.The £1.5 million Digital Champion programme which is providing a network of eight digital "champions" to cover Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) areas in Scotland. They are working to improve ICT provision in these areas by engaging local people and driving forward local activity.A £1.6 million initiative to develop community ICT facilities in Gorbals and Pollok. They will be aimed at encouraging people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods to take their first steps in experiencing how ICTs and the Internet can have a positive impact on the quality of their lives.A number of other initiatives are also promoting ICT in communities. These include:The New Opportunities Fund has allocated £23 million through its "Community Access to Lifelong Learning" programme. The money is being used to link every public library to the Internet and to improve access to lifelong learning through the use of information and communications technology across Scotland, with the focus on socially excluded adults and communities.£8 million has been made available to the Scottish University for Industry to develop a network of learndirect scotland branded learning centres to enable easier access to ICT learning within communities - 223 learndirect scotland centres have been created so far and the target is to create 300 centres by March 2002. £1.5 million has been made available over three years for IT development in the voluntary sector. Scottish Executive, in partnership with Scottish Enterprise, has contributed £150,000 to launch the Uplift project. Uplift is providing initial computer training for 60 to 70 people around the country who will in turn be able to pass on their skills to other members of their communities. The National Grid for Learning (NGfL) website has a communities channel which has developed a "Guide to Getting Communities Connected". This provides information to help those who wish to promote the use of ICTs in the community. In addition the Executive is providing £530,000 to the "Connecting Communities" project - an ICT training project for community learning practitioners.

Information on issues relating to authentication and security of electronic transactions over the Internet can be found on the Office of the e-Envoy website.Information on these issues is also contained in the published draft Information Age Government Framework.

Through the Modernising Government Fund, the Scottish Executive has supported a number of pilot projects which are exploring the different methods of delivery available to provide information and services to Scottish citizens. Projects have involved research into service delivery through iDTV, information kiosks, call centres, one stop shops, e-mail and web sites to give but a few examples. The Scottish Executive is actively involved in encouraging a multi channel access approach, particularly through highlighting examples of best practice to be found across the Scottish public sector and through the promotion of its vision statement. The vision has at its heart, citizen choice, whereby the citizen is empowered to access information and services in his or her preferred manner.

The Executive's Digital Inclusion Strategy, which was published in September of last year, set out ways in which we will tackle this issue. The Public Internet Access Points Initiative, which is currently under development, will see internet-ready PCs being put in places where people actually go - for example shops and banks. This £5 million programme aims to create at least 1,000 extra public internet access points in Scotland, more than doubling the current number. We expect to start shipping the first PCs in the spring of this year.The £3.5 million Digital Communities competition will tackle digital inclusion by creating pilot "digital communities" to provide home-base internet access in two disadvantaged communities in Scotland. The objective is to assess how individual access to the internet can transform opportunities for people living in these communities, by developing new ways of accessing learning, work, shopping and leisure.