Digital strategy for Scotland: sustainable digital public services - delivery plan 2025-2028

Introduction

Digital Strategy for Scotland

The Digital Strategy for Scotland 2025 sets out the Scottish Government’s and Local Government’s joint vision.

Our Vision is to build a nation where digital:

• Connects people to opportunities
• Creates economic growth
• Delivers improved public services

The vision is supported by subject-specific delivery plans which explain how we will deliver the vision. The vision can be read here Digital Strategy for Scotland – Our Vision

Delivery plan

This delivery plan sets out actions that will be taken by 2028 to deliver sustainable digital public services. The delivery plan explains why these actions are needed, when they will be delivered, and how progress will be measured. It will be overseen as appropriate by joint governance processes that bring together the Scottish Government and Local Authorities.

The plan will be regularly updated, so that it remains current. Case studies and successes will also be shared. We will publish an annual report to summarise our progress.

Reflecting the long-term nature of our vision, this delivery plan points to forthcoming actions beyond 2028. These will be given sharper definition in future updates.

Sustainable digital public services

Public service reform in Scotland aims to create services that are efficient, person-centred, preventative, and delivered locally. This means that services are designed for people and communities, and not according to the way organisations are structured.

Digital solutions that are informed by quality data, are central to this, making services more efficient, improving the experience of people, empowering communities and supporting early intervention to improve lives.

Ambition for digital public services

We want to see a Scotland where:

Digital innovation transforms Scotland’s public services, making them smarter, faster, and fairer. By placing efficiency, high-quality customer service, and prevention at the core, where people have the confidence that public money is spent wisely and with clarity on how well services are performing, we can transform how our nation delivers public services and achieve better outcomes for everyone. At the same time, robust cyber security ensures everyone can trust and embrace digital services, confident their information is protected.

How we will deliver this

We will achieve this by:

• developing public sector leadership, skills and capability for digital, data, cyber and innovation
• using data and technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), ethically to protect privacy, build trust, and reduce cyber risk
• delivering collaborative digital programmes and common digital solutions that improve public service efficiency, transform the user experience, and deliver better outcomes through the delivery of person-centred and preventative services
• implementing a formal governance programme to enable better joint decision-making, strategic alignment and transparency

What we will do

The following pages set out actions that Local Government and the Scottish Government will take between now and 2028. Actions that align to the ‘Public Service Reform Strategy’ are highlighted.

Actions are organised around the following themes:

• system leadership
• common approaches
• data
• public sector workforce and capability
• advanced technology and innovation
• cyber resilient services

Public Service Reform Strategy

This ambition, and the actions to realise this, go hand-in-hand with the agenda set out in the Scottish Government’s Public Service Reform Strategy to deliver effective public services that have a transformational impact on people’s lives. The contribution and relevance of this action plan to the Public Service Reform Strategy, and vice versa, cannot be understated. We have highlighted the actions in this action plan that align to the Public Service Reform Strategy.