IT champion to urge government to spell out its technology vision

In a speech today, Intellect's John Higgins will argue that the coalition must harness ICT to drive economic growth

The government may be "missing a trick" in not effectively harnessing the potential of ICT to drive economic growth, Intellect's director general John Higgins will tell delegates at the Intellect Annual Regent Conference today.

Higgins will say that while Intellect supports the government's technology-related initiatives, they agree with outgoing CBI director general Sir Richard Lambert that the government has so far failed to fully articulate its technology vision for the UK economy.

He will talk about the necessity of the creation of a ‘t-inclusive' economy – where the t stands for technology – "in the same way as we are creating an e-inclusive society".

He will argue that the government's drive to support UK technology startups is important but not enough, and that the coalition also needs to ensure that "technology companies, large and small, UK and foreign, are supplying services that are central to our country's growth strategy".

To kick-start the process, Intellect will stage a technology summit with key industry players ahead of the Budget to develop a growth strategy, and write to Chancellor George Osborne and Business Secretary Vince Cable to invite the government to take part.