They seek him here... that elusive e-envoy

The words 'Internet Tsar' have been whispered along the halls of Whitehall for some time. Some of the more progressive types claim we need a champion of IT - an 'e-envoy' - who would head something like a Department of the Internet.

Unfortunately, not everyone agrees that this is necessary, and the one person who did want the job - Peter Mandelson - may have shredded his own CV when he became embroiled in the infamous home loan scandal.

The latest name to be touted for the job of digital envoy is Alex Allan, the PM's former private secretary, and Britain's high commissioner to Australia. But the appointment has been delayed. The DTI called the alleged appointment 'speculation'.

An increasingly frustrated Mandelson has publicly expressed concern over government's commitment to an e-envoy, and has criticised the lack of momentum behind efforts to improve the use of technology in government - and this being politics, has opened himself up to allegations of empire building in the process.

Another person associated with the 'e-minister' role is Patricia Hewitt, who replaced DTI minister, Michael Wills, in the recent reshuffle (Wills also had specific responsibility for IT). She may be given responsibility for both the IT industry and the government's use of IT, and is a more senior figure than Wills. No official announcement has yet been made, however, and it seems unlikely that Hewitt will head up a specific department for the Internet or ecommerce in any case.

So what now? Systems integrator, Bull, recently co-ordinated a 'virtual think tank', in which over 80 experts from business, government and academia took part in an online debate about how to boost the digital economy in the UK.

The experts identified two key areas required to take ecommerce forward. Firstly, an urgent response is needed by UK plc, they claimed secondly, the role of the government has to be defined. No surprises there. But therein lies the heart of the matter: what exactly is the role of government in ecommerce?

Stephen Meyler, director of strategy and marketing at Bull, claims the government's past record in promoting technology is not good. A recent Bull survey showed that 90 per cent of the general public were unaware of the government's plans to put all services online by 2002. Forty per cent of civil servants did not believe this target could be reached.

He said: "There are a lot of underlying statistics that the government is not doing an effective job in communicating the need for UK plc to start energising itself towards the digital economy."

The government needs a separate department within Whitehall to deal with the emerging digital economy, he claimed, as current technological knowledge is in "small parts spread thinly". This is evident in the recent handling of the ecommerce Bill.

Former DTI minister, Michael Wills, fought back, claiming that the government's approach needs to be light handed. "Our agenda is to beat America and to lead the world. There have been huge changes in the Bill over the last few months. We've modernised it and it is an incredibly light touch. Every company [involved in the consultation process] was incredibly careful not to take political views. The industry does not want to get in the middle of a row."

But Ian Pearson, futurologist at BT, accused the government of "constantly paying lip service" to promoting a digital economy. Critics of the ecommerce Bill claim the government took too long over the consultation period and first draft.

"Government needs to push it with the four million SMEs which do not all come to BT and IBM to get advice," Pearson continued. "They are too busy running their every day business to look ahead. But it is in the interest of the UK to proceed quickly down the ecommerce route. It will increase GDP and improve business efficiency."

This will be difficult to achieve, he said, given the current level of technical illiteracy within the government. He claimed that because of this, "it is hard to get any sensible legislation, and it's hard to get businesses to do it if government won't. A large percentage of the problem is that UK plc and the government do not understand the benefits a digital economy can bring."

This might be true now, but given the predictions by research house, Forrester, this won't always be the case. Recent figures show business-to-business ecommerce will grow from $43bn in 1998 to $1.3tr by 2003.

But these figures can only be reached providing UK businesses are given a wake-up call, government's role is defined, confidence is boosted and access to technology is increased. Building a digital economy is a slow process and the joint responsibility of government and business. One cannot be reliant on the other for leadership.

The same vigour needs to be evident in this issue as it has been with the millennium bug. If the government can set up a whole department to deal with a programming problem, why can't it establish one to build the UK's online economy?

If the publishing of the draft Electronic Communications Bill has shown one thing it is that there needs to be a champion of IT to act as a government figurehead to liase with the industry. This person must be given their own department. Whether that person is Mandelson, Allen or Hewitt is irrelevant - all they need is the respect of business, access to the highest echelons of government and a department of their own.

Only then will the private and public sectors work hand-in-hand to put the UK at the heart of the ecommerce revolution.