Government appoints new ministerial working group to develop digital transformation, data economy and public administration

On Thursday 2 September, the Government appointed a Ministerial Working Group on Developing the Digital Transformation, the Data Economy and Public Administration. The new working group will be responsible for guiding and directing the development of public administration, the digital transformation, the data economy and information policy.

At the start of its working term, the ministerial working group will be chaired by Minister of Local Government Sirpa Paatero in matters concerning public administration. In other matters, Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka will serve as Chair until March 2022, followed by Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä until the end of September 2022. After this, Minister Paatero will serve as Chair in all matters for the remainder of the term. The other members will be Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko, Minister of Justice Anna-Maja Henriksson, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Krista Mikkonen and Minister of Social Affairs and Health Hanna Sarkkinen.

The Ministerial Working Group will coordinate activities and situational awareness related to digitalisation and information policy, technology policy and the data economy at the Government level and will coordinate development projects within its mandate. The ministerial working group will draw up the necessary policy guidelines on preparing development strategies and implementing public administration programmes, boosting productivity in the public sector, drawing up guidelines for local policy, developing technology policy, digital services and the data economy, and managing information policy. 

The Government also reviewed and updated the roles and compositions of the current ministerial working groups in line with the decisions made during the mid-term policy review. The chairmanship of the Ministerial Working Group on Health and Social Services was divided so that Minister of Local Government Sirpa Paatero will serve as its Chair in matters concerning the new tasks of the wellbeing services counties (excluding their health and social services tasks), their taxation rights and the related changes in financing, while Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services Krista Kiuru will serve as Chair in all other matters. Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen and Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä were also appointed to the Ministerial Working Group on Sustainable Growth in Finland. 

Inquiries: Matti Niemi, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in Political Affairs, tel. +358 295 160 165, [email protected]

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