UK government launches review of the sharing economy

The government has launched a review of the “sharing economy” to evaluate the economic potential and social implications created by people sharing products and services through the web.

The review is intended to look at the impact of services such as Airbnb, which allows people to rent out homes or rooms, or BlaBlaCar, used for car journey sharing.

In his speech to the Conservative Party conference, chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne highlighted the need to understand the potential effect of disruptive technologies.

"Every single day new technologies, new companies and new economies are fundamentally shaking up the established way of doing things," he said.

"It’s never been easier for thousands to start their own business in Britain, and reach the whole world. But a single app can appear overnight and disrupt an entire industry. 

"It can be exciting – but unsettling too. For this technology brings intense competition that spells rapid decline for any sector, or any country, that fails to keep up. These are big questions that require big answers."

The consultation has been initiated by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and will be led by Debbie Wosskow, CEO of online home-swapping service Love Home Swap.

“Over the next few months I will be exploring the social and economic potential of the sharing economy in the UK, and making recommendations on how this potential can be reached. I will also be considering any risks to consumers, or established businesses outside the sharing economy,” said Wosskow.

“I am keen to hear a wide range of views to feed into my review, including from users and potential users of sharing economy services, businesses operating in the sharing economy, and established businesses that are not part of the sharing economy,” she said.

The consultation will look at existing services such as home or business rentals, transport sharing and personal-time sharing, as well as emerging areas including fashion, food and personal items.

The terms of reference for the review said: “Collaborative businesses such as Airbnb and TaskRabbit are growing the sharing economy – peer-to-peer marketplaces that allow people to share possessions, time and skills. These new and varied business models are attracting significant publicity and investment across a wide range of sectors.”

Wosskow is calling for evidence to be submitted to the consultation before 28 October 2014, and will report on her findings by December.

The sharing economy has already caused controversy in some countries. In the US, hotel firms have complained that Airbnb allows people to avoid paying taxes on renting properties, as well as circumventing the rules and regulations to which they are forced to adhere. Taxi hailing app Uber has led to protests by taxi drivers in London and elsewhere about unlicensed cab drivers unfairly competing with regulated providers.

The UK government hopes that a better understanding of the implications of the sharing economy will help to create an environment that is more attractive for companies launching such services to base themselves in the UK.

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Civil service chief endorses 'government as platform' digital strategy

The head of the civil service, Jeremy Heywood, has endorsed the government digital strategy, hailing the move to “government as a platform” as a key part of Whitehall reform.

Writing in a blog post, Heywood said the pace of digital change in the civil service is accelerating.

“Things are changing in the civil service. The changes might be hard to see from outside – you won’t have heard about them on the news – but they are happening,” he said.

“Technology and the internet in particular, are the driving forces. Many in the world of business understood this and adapted to it years ago. The civil service lagged behind. Now we are changing that.”

Heywood discussed a number of elements of the government digital strategy, such as the Gov.UK web publishing platform and work to digitise 25 high-volume government transactions.

He revealed that HP CEO Meg Whitman and her team met with some of Whitehall’s digital leaders and permanent secretaries last week. HP remains the biggest IT supplier to the UK government by revenue, earning about £1.7bn per year – but moves to end big outsourcing deals and bring in smaller and more agile suppliers have threatened HP's dominance.  

“The discussion indicated just how significant this agenda is and also – in my view – the good progress we have already made,” said Heywood.

Heywood said the move to “government as a platform” was intended to change Whitehall from “a series of disjointed silos” to “a more unified, efficient service” – echoing closely the words of government digital chief Mike Bracken. In a recent interview with Computer Weekly, Bracken described the move from silos to platforms as a “generational” switch: “That is going to be the bulk of the activity technically in the next parliament,” he said.

Heywood acknowledged the role of the Government Digital Service (GDS), which Bracken leads, and said the digital principles GDS has established need to be applied to policy making, and not just to technology.

“I believe that, thanks to the excellent work of the Government Digital Service and the increasing digital capability within each individual department, the British civil service is already at the cutting edge of applying digital technology to public service delivery. But we now need to take this to the next level, and apply the same principles and techniques in policy design,” he said.

“A huge amount of work has been done already, but we have just scratched the surface of what’s possible. New services will emerge – bespoke, personalised services government couldn’t normally justify spending money on, especially in a tight budgetary environment or services no-one else has even thought of before.”

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