The news was announced by Minister for the Cabinet Office Douglas Alexander on 15 December 2003.
The new office will be run by a head of e-government, to be appointed in the coming months. The position will be based in the Cabinet Office and report to the minister and the cabinet secretary. Most of the OeE's staff, currently numbering about 250, will transfer into the OeG, except for those on secondment from other parts of the public sector.
Among the responsibilities will be delivering the existing Cabinet Office Public Service Agreement target for electronic service delivery, driving the implementation of information systems across the public sector and acting as the central sponsor for information assurance.
"The appointment of a head of e-government represents an evolution in the e-envoy role which will build on the achievements of the last four years," said Alexander. "The head of e-government will play a pivotal role in supporting the Prime Minister's vision for public service reform
"Their task will be to focus on ensuring that IT supports the business transformation of government itself so that we can provide better, more efficient public services."
Andrew Pinder, the e-envoy, said the appointment would be made in the weeks before or after his contract is due to expire in April 2004. He said he would not be a candidate for the new position, which will be advertised in the new year.
Pinder suggested the new appointment is likely to come from the private sector, either from a chief information officer's role or from running IT operations in large corporation. He said the role would be "analogous but not the same" as that of a chief information officer in a commercial corporation.
The role would differ from that of the e-envoy in not taking in e-commerce. Pinder said that there would also be a greater emphasis on assisting the "joining up" of online public services.
Five key principles will underpin the work of the head of e-government:
- Building services around customers;
- Moving towards web based service delivery;
- Driving cost out from service delivery;
- Using technology to free up those in the front line of service delivery;
- Automating and integrating more back office functions.
"My people will work very closely with Peter Gershon's (the chief executive of the OGC) to build common standards around IT projects," he said.
"OGC will take the lead on good practice around government acquiring assets. The OeG will take a major role when there is a strong IT element."
Quelle: Kablenet, 15.12.2003
