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The future of advice: what role for technology?
The Low Commission is interested in advisers’ views on what role technology might play in the future delivery of advice services, and is holding a roundtable next week, which rightsnet will be attending
However outside of this, the Commission would welcome any contributions that rightsnet users might want to make here in the forum
(NB - the independent ‘Low Commission on the Future of Advice and Legal Support’ was launched in December 2012 and is developing a strategy for access to advice and support on Social Welfare Law in England and Wales. It is currently inviting general evidence submissions and is consulting on a series of context papers on different aspects of social welfare law, with a final report due in December 2013. You can find out more @ http://www.lowcommission.org.uk/)
With regards to technology and advice, here’s Sarah Ogilvie from the Commission’s secretariat -
The advice sector is currently undergoing a period of real challenge. Funding for legal advice from central government under the legal aid scheme will all but disappear completely as of 1 April 2012. Combined with cuts in local authority funding and an apparent increase in need for advice services due to factors such as austerity and welfare reform, there is a real risk that many who need advice and support on social welfare law issues will no longer be able to access it.
Against this background, the Commission is exploring the role of technology in helping to support and advise those with social welfare law problems. New technology is often seen primarily as a way of saving money, but it is also an essential tool in improving how we work. In the advice field, there is a debate to be had about where to draw the line between use of new technology and face-to-face approaches. We are clear that this debate must not just be about the economic case for making better use of new technology, but also must be about the potential of new technology to provide better, and possibly more, information and advice in more accessible ways than traditional approaches.
In order to develop forward looking and practical recommendations, the Commission wants to hear how technology can be used to improve the delivery and administration of advice and at the same time to understand the barriers faced by advice organisations in using technology.
To this end, the Commission is interested in advisers’ views on -
- new and future technology and the implications of these developments for the advice sector
- specific ways of making better use of technology in the advice sector
- challenges involved in introducing new approaches into the advice sector and how best to overcome them.
Can you help? What are your views?
Here’s the write up of last week’s Low Commission roundtable on using tech to help in the delivery of advice services ...
http://www.lowcommission.org.uk/Blog/Advice-and-technology-a-perspective-on-the-roundtable