John Swinney announces Scotland's new digital strategy

The publication, titled “Scotland’s Digital Future – Delivery of Public Services” aims to help shape how Scotland moves forward with its priority of public service reform over the coming years.

In a blog post, Mr Swinney said: “I want to see the needs of users put at the heart of our services and digital technology can allow us to do that.”

“Online services mean that we can access information when we require it, pay a bill or even arrange social care in a simple and quick way. The strategy outlines how different organisations can join up across all sectors to deliver services in a more responsive way.”.

In an interestingly modern approach, the strategy was launched at Twitter 24, a Scotland-wide council led event to provide information on local services through digital media channels.

Councils and partners are working together using the social networking site to raise awareness of the range of services they provide and let people know how they can use and get the most out of them.

“To deliver the modern and efficient public services that the people of Scotland deserve we need to take full advantage of the opportunities that technology offers and this framework will help do that. I’m excited about working with our partners in public services to take this forward in future” said Mr Swinney.