The figure was one of the highlights of the UK online annual report 2003, which was published on 15 December 2003
A spokesperson for the OeE said that 66% of government services are currently online. Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt said it has been one of the main achievements of the OeE, and that public sector websites are now visited by about half of UK internet users.
The Government has a target for all services to be online by the end of 2005.
Among the targets for the Government is everyone who wants it can get access to the internet or digital interactive TV at home.
She declared two other main achievements. Firstly, anyone wanting to access the internet can now do so. 96% of the population is aware of a place where they can obtain access either at home, at work, through mobile technology or at a public access point. The development of over 6,000 UK online centres has contributed to this.
Secondly, she claimed the UK is one of the best environments in the world for e-commerce. The value of online transactions exceeded £23bn in 2002, and more than 3m people are now subscribing to broadband services.
"The Prime Minister's appointment of an e-envoy four years ago has been a clear success," said Hewitt. "The UK is now one of the world's most connected economies."
Other aspects of the annual report acknowledge continued problems in e-government. Take up levels are relatively low, with just 8% of internet users claiming to have transacted with a government department online. Also, many services still derive from departmental silos.
In response, the OeE is planning to run a pilot that will present information clustered around groups and topics, such as parents and motoring, with several departments contributing the information. This will enable common customers of different departments to access services from a single location.
Other plans include:
- a policy paper for digital interactive TV to be published early in 2004;
- a positioning paper on how to use mobile communications for delivering e-government services;
- pilots on "flexible authentication solutions for government".
Quelle: Kablenet, 16.12.2003
