A ‘Lego government' model of an internet-based public sector based around standardised blocks of online services could release an extra £46bn for the frontline, claims a report launched at the Institute for Government.

Calling for ‘a modern internet-based state' the report, Better Public Services – A Manifesto' said public services ‘are still generally centralised, hierarchical and organisation-centric' and ‘old-fashioned' compared to modern internet businesses. It argued that technology has often been used ‘simply to automate inefficient old processes and current services – and to make these look cosmetically better at the front end – rather than to rethink, redesign, modernise, and improve.'