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Power to the people – Information sharing hailed as a new force for social progress for government

Popular phenomena such as rightsnet and netmums are democratising information and driving citizens’ appetite for sharing advice and opinions in new ways, Minister for the Cabinet Office Hilary Armstrong said today.

Hilary Armstrong this morning met with leading external groups such as consumer organisations, voluntary enterprises and regulators who use the ‘power of information’ to improve lives. They debated the rising power of new information channels and their potential to influence the delivery of public services for the better.

The seminar is part of the Government’s Policy Review process and is a platform for assessing how new media developments could help build community networks and empower people, increase the effectiveness of public services and how government can help unlock the full potential of this social movement.

Joined at the Cabinet Office by Ed Mayo of the National Consumer Council, Tom Steinberg of MySociety and others, Hilary Armstrong said:

‘Information is in itself empowering and these new ways of sharing information are the 21st century version of the self-help and cooperative movements that produced lasting social progress a century ago.

This issue is about satisfying the appetite people have for sharing information, and for using the information we already have in new ways. We want people to be armed with the information that allows them to be independent and in control of their lives – driving up public service standards through their suggestions and scrutiny.’

Tom Steinberg who attended today’s seminar said:

‘The ways in which people can create and share information in order to help each other have changed completely in the last 10 years. I hope today helps the Government’s understanding of how some of these changes are affecting it, and how it can act as a catalyst for information creation and sharing by members of the public’.

Hilary Armstrong said the issues raised at the seminar would be reviewed in detail over the next two months and will feed into the outcomes of the Governments Policy Review process.

Notes to editors

1. To illustrate the growth of information sharing and networking sites, MySpace reports 230,000 new members every day on average and the following growth profile:
   November 2004: 4.9 million
   November 2005: 26.7 million
   January 2006: 47.3 million
   September 2006: 106 million
2. Other examples of innovative information sharing websites include: YouTube, studentroom, netmums, rightsnet
3. The policy review is looking at challenges for UK over the next 10 years and beyond. Please see www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk for details

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