South Lanarkshire Council has confirmed a new digital strategy for the next five years.
It was approved at the full council meeting on June 15 and is aligned with the council plan and the national strategy, which was published by the Scottish Government in March last year.
The new strategy will build on previous accomplishments and focus on service transformation utilising digital technologies.
A key element of the new strategy is cyber security – as systems move to the cloud and services are accessed across the internet, it is important to place safeguards to protect against cyber attacks.
The strategy is aligned to the Scottish Government’s Digital Strategy “A Changing Nation: How Scotland Will Thrive in a Digital World”, which was published in March 2021 and developed jointly with COSLA.
It describes a vision of embracing digital technology to deliver better outcomes for all Scotland’s citizens, and it includes digital inclusion to ensure that no one is left behind in the digital age.
This strategy sets out how South Lanarkshire Council plans to use new technologies to help deliver its aims of improving the quality of life for everyone in the area.
Chair of the finance and corporate resources committee, Councillor Lesley McDonald (Larkhall), said: “There have been major technical advances in several areas since the last Digital Strategy was published in 2017.
“The pandemic has of course resulted in an increase in remote working, both across the council and with our many partners.”
Councillor McDonald added: “It describes how services will be delivered as “Digital First”, but we will also ensure no one is left behind as digital services are introduced. This will include working with partners to improve digital connectivity and supporting initiatives to deliver free public wi-fi and user devices.
“We will also ensure that projects implementing new technology take account of impact to users and staff at the planning stage, fully train staff as part of all new technology introductions and put users at the heart of new technology projects making it as easy as possible to use.
“The strategy also sets out the technical foundations necessary to realise the council’s digital vision.”
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