Brown sees government savings of £11bn from new IT

Super-fast broadband and next-generation web underpin Labour's vision

Tim Berners-Lee will lead a research centre focused on the development of the next-generation web

In a major speech made today, Gordon Brown outlined plans for a new digital Britain that will save the government millions of pounds and be underpinned by UK-wide access to super-fast broadband and the ‘next generation web’.

The prime minister said that the ‘radical set of proposals’ will save the government £11bn, create more than a quarter of a million skilled jobs within 10 years and enable citizens to tailor public services and have more say in government policy.

To that end, Brown pledged to deliver super-fast internet access - about 50Mbps, compared with an average speed provided to UK domestic users currently of 4Mbps. He also said he wants the UK to become "the world leader in the digital economy" by 2020.

A 50p-a-month levy on landlines – ‘the price of a pint of milk’ – will help ensure that fast internet access is delivered to rural areas.

“Super-fast broadband is the electricity of the digital age. And I believe it must be for all - not just for some,” said Brown.

The prime minister added that the government will take advantage of opportunities afforded by the technology to transform the way people interact with government and allow them to give ‘constant feedback’ on their success and put ‘citizens and not the public servant’ in control.

The £11bn in savings from use of new technologies and increased transparency will make up over half of the £20bn savings to be announced in Wednesday’s Budget report, according to Brown.

One new initiative will see a personalised portal of government services, dubbed MyGov, that will offer a range of services over the web, including the ability to book doctor’s appointments, access tax benefits, or get a new passport or driving licence.

The government also announced the launch of a digital domesday book, a vast inventory of all non-personal datasets held by UK departments and agencies.

To speed up the migration of services online and ensure the new format meets users needs, Brown expanded the role of the government’s digital inclusion campaigner Martha Lane Fox.

Lane Fox will become the UK’s digital champion and will help establish a new digital public services unit based in the Cabinet Office.

Funding of £30m to create the Institute of Web Science was also announced. The centre will be based in the UK and headed by world wide web inventor Tim Berners Lee and web science expert Nigel Shadbolt.

The centre will create a home-grown centre of research on the semantic web and other emerging internet technologies, in partnership with universities, private sector web developers and businesses.

Brown said that ‘more people need to be trained’ in order to deliver the vision of a new digital Britain and that the government is committed to maintaining investments in science, but avoided commenting on the sweeping cuts in higher education within technology departments, notably computer science.