The UK has fallen behind the rest of Europe in usage of e-government services, according to the latest official EU figures. The statistics will come as an embarrassment to the UK's e-government programme just days before the launch of its IT strategy.
The report, issued by the EU's statistics service on 27 October 2005, shows that the UK is at the bottom of league tables on all aspects of interaction with public authorities via the internet.
According to the figures the UK is:
- Fifth from bottom for people having used the internet to obtain information about government. It is behind Hungary, Iceland, Poland and Greece, among others. Under a third (31%) of UK internet users have accessed government websites to get information compared to the EU average of 45%.
- Below all other countries with only 11% of internet users having gone online to download forms from public authorities
- At the bottom of the league for businesses with internet connections accessing government websites in all categories.
The survey covers people aged 16-74 and is based on figures taken in the first quarter of 2004.
Meanwhile, the European Commission itself is preparing to embark on a renewed effort to set up a back office e-government programme.
It aims to revive the "e-commission" concept introducing "streamlined processes" and "interoperable information systems" from 2006.
Speaking at a British Computer Society conference in London, André Richier principal administrator for the Enterprise and Industry Directorate-General at the Commission said a range of initiatives are soon to be underway.
Over the next four years plans for an e-commission will involve delivering improved services for officials, introducing a new "resilient" infrastructure and promoting an e-skills agenda.
"We are developing the e-commission to deliver a better quality and more transparent service. Although we are increasingly getting resources from outside, we have to understand that we have different priorities and procedures from industry. It is important to remember that the focus has to be on legal and political requirements," Richier said.
Quelle: KableNET, 28.10.2005
