Kevin Cunnington has been appointed head of the Government Digital Services (GDS). He was formerly director of business transformation at the Department for Work and Pensions.
GDS runs gov.uk, the government’s overarching website, and advises departments on how to provide online services and manage data. Cabinet Office Minister Ben Gummer said he would “continue the transformation of government services”.
Mr Cunnington, who becomes the third chief executive in a space of just over a year, said he was “delighted to be joining” and wanted to “continue to improve digital services and increase value for money for taxpayers”. He succeeds Steve Foreshew-Cain who said in a resignation post on social media that the unit was in strong shape and committed to continuing to making government simpler and more effective.
Praising his team, he wrote: “Collectively they are the best shot we have to transform government for the internet era. And we all need them to do that.”
One of GDS’ key projects, Notify, recently moved into private beta testing. Notify is a service which will allow departments across government to keep in touch with citizens using their services via email, text or letter.
Another, called Pay – which enables government departments to receive payments or to make refunds – has been approved to process credit and debit card payments on behalf of other government departments and wider public sector organisations.
The government’s 2015 spending review outlined a £450 million investment in the service.