None of these critiques are new, and they have been discussed for decades. Some of the more recent examples include the 2019 report on digital government that identified numerous challenges with culture, leadership, technology, and skills. In 2023, the audit report “Digital Transformation in government: addressing the barriers to efficiency” pointed out that only 4% of civil servants were digital professionals, that the existing skills gap was getting worse, that legacy infrastructure was still pervasive, and that support from senior leaders may not always exist. The report further argues that many services were not at a ‘great’ standard and that “past approaches have focussed on improving websites and front-end screens, making services ‘look good but not be good’”.
