The latest electronic service delivery report from the Office of the e-Envoy shows that progress with
moving government online has slowed to a crawl,
with only 1 per cent more services available online
than a year ago. By summer 2002, just 52 per cent of all services were available in an electronic form
compared with 51 per cent in 2001. The report itself was delayed, being due in May. Perhaps surprisingly however, the report maintains
that government targets of 73 per cent of services
being available online by the end of the year will still be met. According to a spokesperson, one reason for the lack of progress to date is that some services previously counted as single items were later split into separate components. Because of this, the total number of government services assessed has increased by 62 to 581.
Separately, research has revealed that nearly 20 per cent of local authorities are 'not confident' of meeting the 2005 target to deliver all services online. If the results were reproduced across the country, this would amount to 70 councils.
The findings, compiled by the Improvement and Development Agency, also showed that two-thirds of authorities believe that action or support from central government is essential to meeting the target. Overall, just 40 per cent of respondents were 'confident' or 'very confident' of succeeding.
Quelle: Headstar
