Two Sides response
The promised financial and efficiency benefits claimed in the report will of course find enormous support with cash strapped Government Departments and any increased efficiency cannot be argued against. Yet this initiative appears to have a one-sided view which fails to take into account of the full impact that its implementation will have on UK citizens and the significant economic effect that digitisation is having on the print and paper related industries. Perhaps this is not a consideration for the authors of the report but Government needs to be wary of unforeseen downstream consequences.
In the UK, paper manufacture and printing employs 158,000 people and has a turnover of £21 billion - and this does not account for the enormous economic contribution from, and the thousands more employed in, the publishing, post and mail related industries. Therefore, before pursuing a digital agenda, Government must seriously consider not only the case for print and paper reduction but also arguments for its retention where it remains a vital and preferred means of communication.
The promised financial and efficiency benefits claimed in the report will of course find enormous support with cash strapped Government Departments and any increased efficiency cannot be argued against. Yet this initiative appears to have a one-sided view which fails to take into account of the full impact that its implementation will have on UK citizens and the significant economic effect that digitisation is having on the print and paper related industries. Perhaps this is not a consideration for the authors of the report but Government needs to be wary of unforeseen downstream consequences.
In the UK, paper manufacture and printing employs 158,000 people and has a turnover of £21 billion - and this does not account for the enormous economic contribution from, and the thousands more employed in, the publishing, post and mail related industries. Therefore, before pursuing a digital agenda, Government must seriously consider not only the case for print and paper reduction but also arguments for its retention where it remains a vital and preferred means of communication.
