- After the announcement that more money will be spent on the
NHS, we should pick up the pace of automation in healthcare
- Introducing more automation into the public sector more
broadly can save taxpayers £17 billion a year by
2030
- Automation should be welcomed, not feared. Between 2001 and
2015, new technology made 800,000 jobs obsolete,
but it created more than 3.5 million
- Dedicated public service workers deserve to do their jobs
with dignity, not be bogged down with bureaucratic tasks
Today the TaxPayers’ Alliance launches a new
campaign to promote a rapid increase in the automation of public
services. Given that the prime minister announced on
Sunday that the NHS will receive a spending increase of £20
billion a year, now is the time for the government to embrace new
technologies. These will improve services and save taxpayers
billions.
The ‘Automate the state’ campaign is the
next big project from the TaxPayers’ Alliance, making the
positive case for public service reform. It follows our
ground-breaking survey of the tax system in 2012 with
the Single Income
Tax, and our programme for public spending in 2015 with
the Spending
Plan.
Technologies that are already available can greatly improve the
quality of public services whilst bringing down their cost.
The campaign launches with this first paper, beginning a bigger
series of research, events and more.
Better and cheaper public services: potential for
automation in the public sector
- Over 850,000 public sector workers could be released into the
private sector to share their skills and experiences
- There is a skills shortage in the private sector and the
staff released from the public sector are highly likely to get
new, more rewarding jobs
- Remaining public sector workers will be freed to perform more
interesting, creative and rewarding tasks, and focus on service
delivery
- This would save taxpayers’ around £17 billion a year by 2030
- Automation could also improve UK productivity by around 25
per cent, significantly contributing to the solving of the
‘productivity puzzle’
Impact on the labour market
There is a pessimistic view of the effect of automation on
employment, with tech billionaires like Elon Musk predicting vast
unemployment. Before them, the Luddites tried to destroy
machinery, and figures from Elizabeth I to Aristotle have
predicted devastating effects of new technologies.
But technology has historically created more jobs than it has
destroyed. Between 2001 and 2015, new technology made 800,000
jobs obsolete, but created more than 3.5 million.
Example of public sector automation in everyday
life
Accessing a doctor’s appointment can be a frustrating and
time-consuming business for some patients. The traditional method
of multiple phone calls and music on hold followed by a
negotiation with the receptionist is not a great
experience.
Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that the job most people want
to see automated is that of GP receptionist. Moving to a secure
online appointment, prescription and communication portal for the
surgery saves time and effort for patient and surgery staff
alike.
International Case Study - Norway
Norway’s Welfare and Pensions Administration (NAV) has automated
65 per cent of sickness benefit claims and payments processing,
replacing a manual procedure involving thousands of paper forms.
The project has increased efficiency, agility, and accuracy, and
had a positive impact on staff. 350 employees who previously
handled the claims paperwork have been moved to the front office
to help citizens face to face.
Commenting on the launch of the campaign, Andrew
Allum, chairman of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:
“Automation of jobs in the public sector is inevitable in the
coming decades, and there is a way to automate the public sector
that is beneficial to all. Public services would be better,
faster and cheaper. The private sector has a serious skills
shortage and unemployment is very low, so now is the time to
begin releasing people from repetitive public sector jobs to do
more rewarding and valuable private sector jobs.
“The UK should embrace these changes and take a leading role
in the innovations that will make people happier and better off,
ignoring the doom-mongers. The technology for
21st-century public service infrastructure is available now,
and we should be excited about the possibilities for the
future.”
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’
Alliance, said:
“Taxpayers of today and tomorrow will both benefit enormously
from the savings these reforms will bring in the form of reduced
pension liabilities and pay packets.
“The commentariat tells us that people are “tired of
austerity”, so this is a way to save taxpayers’ billions whilst
improving services at the same time. These exciting but realistic
reforms would deliver better service for less money, meaning
taxpayers keep more of their own money.”
