In a report published on Monday, the Institute for Public Policy Research said that companies and voluntary sector organisations could provide electronic public services alongside their usual services. The move could see motorists being able to pay their road tax while buying car insurance and would allow people to claim benefits while seeking help from a charity, said the study.
Payments for the delivery of such "intermediary services" should become the norm, said the IPPR. The move would "revolutionise the relationship between citizens and public services and increase access".
But the merger of e-government and e-commerce would require additional regulation to ensure accountability and equity of access, accepted the report.
"The government has been talking about creating a mixed economy in e-services for three years now but progress has been virtually non-existent," said report author Ian Kearns.
He added that the government would "need to move fast" to take the recommendations on board before it publishes e-government implementation guidelines, which are due by the end of this year.
Quelle: ePolitix, 24.11.2003
