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Evolution of local e-government and frontline service delivery

UKauthorITy.com has been tracking the evolution of technology enabled public service delivery since April 2001 - as the local e-gov programme accelerated the drive for 'modern government' then morphed under Gershon and Varney into the Transformation Agenda in the quest to deliver 'citizen-centric' services.

As a quick walk down memory lane shows, however, the same issues crop up time and time again: slower than expected progress, lack of joined up services, fears of digital exclusion and lack of engagement, breaches of privacy and breakdowns in trust.

Yet, overall, there is no denying the transformation in both council operations and service delivery from the application of technology.

2010 
23/7/2010Government sacks Trusted Borders supplier
The government has torn up a contract with Raytheon to supply e-border control technology.

23/7/2010ContactPoint shuts on 6 August
Tim Loughton, parliamentary under secretary of state for children and families, has made good on the coalition's pledge to shut down the controversial ContactPoint children's database: it will be shut down on 6 August 2010. All data currently held will be destroyed.

22/7/2010Nick Clegg counts his eggs before the votes are cast
The government has published its referendum question and confirms plans to change parliamentary boundaries.

22/7/2010More than 30 government IT contracts at risk from coalition cuts
A total of 35 major government IT outsourcing contracts are potentially at risk of renegotiation in the coming years, warns an industry analyst - but it's not all 'doom and gloom'.

22/7/2010Open and shut - social media democracy in action
The government's experiments with crowdsourcing have had a rocky start, with widespread consternation at both the volume and content of the suggestions and related comments. And now, chancellor George Osborne's Spending Challenge site (looking for suggestions as to where to wield the budget axe) is closed to both - officially due to the site being 'subject to a small number of malicious attacks'.

20/7/2010You put your web portal in, your web portal out...
The peripatetic central government web portal Directgov has returned to its first home, the Cabinet Office, in the coalition government's first major policy announcement on electronic public services. Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, said that the site would become the responsibility of the Efficiency and Reform Group, which he chairs.

13/7/2010Liberated NHS poses big questions for IT
Coalition plans for the future of the NHS will involve major IT challenges for local authorities as well as NHS organisations themselves. Under the 'Liberating the NHS' white paper, published this week, local authorities will take over responsibility for improving the health of their populations, including organising measures such as immunisation and screening.

12/7/2010Drive to get all working Britain online
Digital champion, Martha Lane Fox, wants to see digital leaders in all local authorities, all 750 Jobcentre Plus offices and all public libraries by the end of the year.

08/7/2010LGA wants control of frontline services
The Local Government Association (LGA) claims that that £100bn savings for public purse can be made from place-based budgeting and local control of frontline services.

06/7/2010Government outlines plans for electoral reform and fewer MPs
Deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, has unveiled plans to hold a referendum on election reform and cut the number of MPs.

06/7/2010Local government told to share services and put all vacancies on the web
Local government bosses have been told to put all job vacancies on the net and find new ways to share back offices services including the sharing of chief executives and press officers. Eric Pickles, local government minister, has told town hall leaders to think the unthinkable and end silo structures.

01/7/2010Clegg launches largest exercise in crowd sourcing
Deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, has called for a "raucous" debate on unnecessary legislation. He wants the public to nominate laws, regulations and infringements to their liberty they want repealed in the biggest rebalancing of the relationship between the state and individuals in almost 200 years.

28/6/2010Government sounds last post for watchdog reporting
The government has written to council leaders saying that the end is nigh for expensive Comprehensive Area Assessments (CAA).

25/6/2010Government hits delete on websites
As part of its economy drive the government is to review all of its 820 websites, and most look destined to be culled.

23/6/2010Budget fails to acknowledge essential role of technology in delivering reform and efficiency, says SOCITM president.
"Ever optimistic, and knowing that many of the new ministerial team are IT-savvy, I was hoping the budget speech might acknowledge the role of technology in delivering public sector reform and efficiency as well as the well-being of communities....."

23/6/2010Local IT community puts a brave face on Osborne squeeze
Although not unexpected, the absence of reference to IT as a cost cutting tool in George Osborne's first budget was greeted with disappointment in the public sector IT world.

21/6/2010Government authorises review of all IT contracts
The government confirms it has told departments to review all IT projects. As part of its plans to save £95m in expenditure on computer services the Cabinet's chief enforcer, Francis Maude, has asked civil servants to look at all their IT contracts to see if they should be renegotiated, stopped or allowed to continue.

17/6/2010Government makes £9bn of cuts, and it's only the start
The government has started to wield its axe and has cancelled 12 projects worth more than £2bn and put on the back burner a further £5bn of expenditure agreed to by the previous Labour government since the start of 2010.

16/6/2010Cabinet Office opens up as efficiency team takes the reins
Details of the central government team charged with cutting the public sector's spending on IT have emerged from the Cabinet Office. An organogram published this week shows the structure of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, under John Suffolk.

10/6/2010Local government savings in full
Details of local government's £1.166bn contribution to the £6.2bn emergency savings in have been unveiled by communities secretary, Eric Pickles.

07/6/2010Public sector braces for Budget cuts
The David Cameron and Nick Clegg coalition continues to prepare local government for budgets cuts.

07/6/2010Government unleashes army of armchair auditors
The government is calling for voters to closely scrutinise every aspect of councils' expenditure - more of which will be published online.

04/6/2010Where the COINS go - public sector expenditure is published on the web in preparation for the spending review.
The government has today taken a major step in making the public more aware of public expenditure as it draws up its plans for budget cuts with the Treasury's publication online of data from the Combined Online Information System (COINS) for 2008-09 and 2009-10.

02/6/2010Government commits to putting IT contracts online
Greater transparency across government is the message the prime minister has spelled out to civil servants and local government staff.

01/6/2010Government takes first step to open data
Prime minister, David Cameron, has revealed the civil service's fattest cats as part of his plans to make more government data accessible to the public. The Cabinet Office has published the names of 172 civil servants earning £150,000 or more.

27/5/2010Time called on identity cards
National identity cards will be gone within 100 days says the new home secretary, Theresa May.

24/5/2010We're the solution not the problem, IT industry protests
Suppliers of IT systems and services have reacted with concern to the government's announcement that it is seeking big savings in its ICT spend. The main theme is that the Treasury should be looking to IT as a source of savings - particularly through outsourcing - rather than as an easy target for cuts.

24/5/2010£6.2bn in cuts - right here, right now
Chancellor, George Osborne, and chief secretary to the treasury, David Laws, have announced immediate cuts of £6.2bn to "Whitehall waste".

21/5/2010Big Society IT policy takes shape
The government is to press ahead with the Conservative manifesto commitment to publish ICT contracts in full. This is one of several transparency-oriented Conservative manifesto commitments to make it in to the Coalition Programme for Government, published this week.

19/5/2010David Cameron has pledged to introduce a "new right to data" as a central plank of his plans to put 'people power' at the heart of government.
The new prime minister said the public would be guaranteed easier access to Whitehall-held data, which departments would be expected to publish wherever possible.

17/5/2010Chancellor starts to draw battle lines for public service cuts
Chancellor George Osborne has launched an independent audit of government spending after he said that Labour had left huge holes in departmental budgets.

13/5/2010National ID cards scheme to be axed
Labour's plans for national identity cards are on their way to the recycling bin as one of the first acts of the new coalition government is to scrap the national identity card scheme.

29/4/2010People back electronic voting and investment in technology
Support grows for e-voting - which could encourage more people to vote finds a new survey - as electors say they want increased expenditure on technology.

26/4/2010ICT industry scans the post-election horizon
With the election campaign seriously heating up, suppliers are looking hard at the likely shape of the public sector IT market after May 6. Despite constant references to "get real", the second party leaders' TV debate last night gave only a passing mention to the public spending crisis, when David Cameron spoke of the need to "roll up our sleeves and make some savings this year".

20/4/2010National patient database suspended
The Department of Health has suspended its roll out of confidential medical records following an outcry from doctors and the public.

14/4/2010Lib Dems will create a digitally inclusive society
More money for schools and the scrapping of the identity card project, biometric passports and child database form part of the Liberal Democrats election manifesto. And the party has promised to end the digital divide and ensure universal broadband access.

13/4/2010Tories want to devolve local government power to the people
The Conservative Party has launched its Manifesto: "an Invitation to join the Government of Britain" - and the party wants more people to get involved in their local communities.

12/4/2010Few surprises in Labour's manifesto nod to localism
Stronger local government, with "increased local democratic scrutiny over all local public services" is one of the pledges in the Labour Party's 2010 general election manifesto, published today. IT features in several of the manifesto commitments, including one to consider giving citizens direct access to data held on them by officialdom.

29/3/2010IT group drawn in to lobbying feeding-frenzy
Links between the IT industry and senior figures in government are coming into the spotlight in the continuing row over political lobbying. The latest revelations to emerge from Channel 4's sting recordings of retiring MPs apparently trying to peddle parliamentary influence centre on the all-party information society group, Eurim.

26/3/2010Total reform of the place
The government is planning a radical transformation in the way local public services are delivered - and two percent savings - by rolling out the Total Place approach across England.

24/3/2010Budget boost for Total Place - and e-channels
Total Place, e-government and free data all feature in chancellor Alistair Darling's plans to cut the cost of running government, announced in today's Budget speech. Along with headline cuts in IT expenditure by Whitehall departments.

22/3/2010Chattering classes wake up to e-government
Thanks to a series of well-placed leaks - and a bit of party political grandstanding - e-government is finally on the political agenda. In his "digital future" speech today, the Prime Minister for the first time nailed his personal colours to the cause of public service transformation with the aid of new technology.

19/3/2010OS consultation reveals pent-up frustration
Local government has added its voice to calls for radical changes in the supply of geographical information. In an unexpectedly forthright response to a Communities and Local Government department consultation into the future of Ordnance Survey, the Local Government Association Group has called for an end to the mapping agency's monopoly which it says imposes 'restrictive and costly terms'.

19/3/2010Central government reorganisation squandering millions on IT
More than £150m was spent on IT by government departments going through a process of restructuring but there is little evidence of any benefits, finds a new NAO report.

12/3/2010Tories unveil hit team to manage IT projects
Conservative's plans for a brave new world of technology include the creation of elite IT savvy hit team - known as 'government skunkworks' - which according to shadow cabinet office minister, Francis Maude, will develop low cost IT applications in-house and advise on the procurement of large projects.

11/3/2010Lack of address register a national scandal, say government advisers
The development of a freely available national address register is "long overdue", the government's official advisers on public sector information said this week. In its response to the consultation on the future of Ordnance Survey (OS) the Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information says, "It is a national scandal that we do not have a definitive single National Address Register when most of the components have long resided in the public sector."

10/3/2010After eight years, mass media wakes up to electronic health records
Critics of the London bias of the national media will have plenty of ammunition with the headlines being given to the NHS summary care record this week. The British Medical Association's grumbles about the way in which the record is being deployed featured prominently in today's Radio 4 Today programme and lead the Daily Telegraph.

10/3/2010Digital inclusion takes centre stage
A free software widget to allow people to search the web for information on public services in their area is to be launched today by the Directgov website. The Directgov team is taking the opportunity to use what may be the last big public showing for the highest profile IT-related programme of Gordon Brown's government, the digital inclusion drive.

02/3/2010Slightly Better Connected: annual Socitm survey paints a gloomy picture
Five years on from the rush to make public services available online, the development of local authority websites has run out of steam. The latest instalment of an authoritative annual survey, the Better Connected report, shows "little evidence that councils have invested in their sites over the last 12 months" to enable self-service government.

25/2/2010New research reveals online government information is a hit with UK consumers
The government's push to transfer local and central government information online is finding favour with the UK's consumers but the Government Gateway is barely open.

25/2/2010Staff at child maintenance agency shun computers and turn to pen and paper
Computers keyboards are being pushed to one side as staff at the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission turn to pen and paper to complete claims that the IT system cannot cope with.

24/2/2010Address database to roll to census day - and then be wiped
Details have emerged of efforts by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to create a comprehensive database of addresses for use in the 2011 census. The aim is to build a list that is at least 99% complete from existing databases, update it continuously until census day in March 2011 - and then to discontinue the work.

22/2/2010Boom time for IT suppliers turns to bust as election looms
The public sector has been the lifebuoy of the UK software and IT services industries for the past decade, with public sector IT contracts exceeding £10.9bn in 2009. But with cuts expected under both the existing Labour government or a potential Conservative one, the public sector IT boom is at an end.

18/2/2010Care at home means greater use of technology
Councils facing the challenge of an ageing population as public spending reduces should consider turning to technology to cut costs.

28/1/2010Berners-Lee takes on Whitehall Windows
The government's 'make public data public' initiative was born in a lunch discussion between Gordon Brown and Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the world-wide web, according to an interview published today. Prospect magazine quotes Berners-Lee as saying that Brown asked him in spring 2009 what the UK should do to make the best use of the internet. "I said, you should put all your government data onto the web. And he said, okay then, let's do it."

27/1/2010Government opts for new money-saving IT strategy
Savings to the public purse of £3.2bn annually from 2013/14 are claimed through measures set out in the government's new ICT Strategy.

21/1/2010Government slips the leash on data
More than 2500 data sets from across government are, from today, free for reuse by the public from a one-stop data shop, data.gov.uk.


2009 
21/12/2009Digital Britain task force chalks up solid progress - so far
As the man said after jumping without a parachute from 40,000 feet: so far, so good. The first implementation update of last summer's Digital Britain plan, published by BIS, reveals progress across the board in turning the white paper's ideas into government policy.

07/12/2009Give the Cabinet Office more IT teeth, says think tank
At a time when the government and opposition are trying to out-do each other with visions of 'people power' taking control of government information, it takes some nerve to propose giving Whitehall more power. But that is one of the conclusions of a report published by the Institute for Government think tank.

07/12/2009Power to the people as technology used to drive down public sector costs
The Government and opposition parties are promising cuts in public services and the mothballing of high profile IT projects in the run-up to Wednesday's pre-Budget statement, which is expected to confirm that annual borrowing will top £175bn.

03/12/2009Now it's time for 'c-gov'
The storms that savaged the country in November add a physical backdrop to the devastation that is Britain's finances.

23/9/2009Transformational Government set for October face-lift
The Cabinet Office is to publish an update of the Transformational Government strategy next month, a senior source revealed today.

16/9/2009Survey reveals the two nations of e-government
One fifth of web users now pay their council tax and other local-authority bills online, according to Oxford Internet Surveys' latest snapshot of online Britain.

15/9/2009The government has saved at least £7m over the past year by making its IT systems greener.
Changes including extending the life of PCs, making double-sided printing the default option and making sure computers are turned off at night have helped cut the carbon footprint of central government computers by 12,000 tonnes - the same as taking five thousand cars off the road.

03/9/2009Ealing council's IT system was brought to its knees on 14 May after a PC was infected with the Conficker D virus
The virus was introduced into the councils system when an unauthorised infected memory stick was plugged into a USB port on a PC connected to the Ealing network.

01/9/2009Calling all innovators....
The Innovators Council is looking for examples of innovation on the frontline - and participants at an innovation workshop.

18/8/2009New research highlights local government's dependency on software giant Microsoft
PCs provided to local government staff are almost exclusively a operating in a Microsoft environment.

06/8/2009Timms to lead Digital Britain Charge
Treasury minister, Stephen Timms, is to take on the post of communications minister in order to keep the government's stalling Digital Britain strategy on track.

30/7/2009Councils are basing important decisions on unreliable information, an Audit Commission study reveals
But the watchdog fails to see technology as the answer to the problem.

07/7/2009Public sector still top of the list for data breaches
Public sector organisations were responsible for the largest number of reported data breaches in Britain last year, according to an international snapshot of data security published today (7 July).

01/7/2009Opposition to the philosophy and practical implementation of Transformational Government is emerging as a key element in Conservative Party policy as the Tories gear up for the next election.
The concept of IT-enabled, citizen-centric government has come under fire in a series of speeches and statements by shadow ministers.

01/7/2009Bell tolls for national identity card scheme
The national identity card scheme, once regarded as the key to public services and a panacea for terrorism, will not be compulsory.

30/6/2009CIO considers 'government app store'
Tentative steps towards opening up the development of e-government applications along the lines of Apple's "app store" are about to begin, the government's chief information officer said today. John Suffolk told the European e-Government Conference at the University of Westminster Business School that a six-month investigation has begun into "emerging models" of software development.

29/6/2009Government is wasting millions on IT projects claims right wing think tank, the Centre for Policy Studies.
Most of the government expenditure of £16.5bn on IT is wasted, it states, arguing that of the government's committed spending of 1.4% of GDP on IT projects in the financial year for 2009-2010 only 30 percent of it will be spent efficiently.

25/6/2009Cabinet Office fills top IT posts
The Cabinet Office has made two senior appointments to help drive its new-look government IT strategy. McCluggage, director of the Delivery and Innovation Division at the Department of Finance and Personnel in the Northern Ireland civil service, is to become deputy chief information officer. He replaces Andrew Stott, who has become director of digital engagement.

18/6/2009NHS crunch
One outcome of President Obama's $1 trillion plan to reform the US's healthcare system has been a flurry of American interest in the NHS's computerisation programme. Leading figures on the NHS scene and independent commentators are enjoying a rare moment in the international limelight as normally insular US experts examine the NHS National Programme for IT to identify elements that might be worth replicating.

16/6/2009Digital Britain could lead economic and social growth
The Digital Britain white paper positions a thriving digital economy and citizen 'digital participation' as an essential bedrock for the nation's future growth.

10/6/2009Don't have it; don't want it either - the government's plan for everyone to have access to the internet faces stubborn resistance from people who just don't want to surf the net.
Over two fifths (43%) of adults who currently do not have access to the internet at home say that they would choose to remain unconnected even if they were given a free PC and broadband connection.

04/6/2009Lack of awareness of online public services is hampering take up.
Research from Coleman Parkes and Parity suggests that the British public is keen to use web services, but is simply unaware of what they can do online.

03/6/2009Tom Watson resigns from ministerial IT post
Of the dozen or so ministers to have held the Cabinet Office IT portfolio under Labour, Tom Watson held a unique distinction. He was the only one to show any enthusiasm for the job, and the first to take the role further than fire-fighting. Within weeks of arriving at the Cabinet Office at the beginning of 2008, he had identified the systemic weakness in decades of central government IT policy. He saw a political opportunity to put that weakness at centre stage and his closeness to Gordon Brown gave him the political weight to make that happen.

15/5/2009Kent connects to GCSX en masse
Kent Connects - a partnership of all Kent and Medway authorities - is the first group to achieve aggregated connection to the Government Connect Secure eXtranet (GCSX) through a shared IT infrastructure.

13/5/2009Stott to head digital engagement
The Cabinet Office has opted for a safe choice as the government's first head of digital engagement. Andrew Stott, 53, is a career civil servant and well known on the government IT circuit as deputy chief information officer and director, service transformation. He is also a lifelong personal computer enthusiast.

12/5/2009Child database rolls into action
Social workers, health professionals, head teachers and other cleared professionals will be able to see, for the first time, all different services involved with any child they are working with as up to 800 frontline practitioners in 17 pilot local authorities, Barnardo's and KIDS, go live with the ContactPoint children's database from next week.

12/5/2009Councils look to make efficiency savings before job cuts
Local authority leaders have promised to make efficiency savings before job cuts and say they will be trying to protect posts that provide effective management.

07/5/2009Problems with ICS to be fixed
The government's new action plan for the protection of children in England sets out to fix concerns raised by both the Social Work Task Force and Lord Laming about the Integrated Children's System (ICS).

06/5/2009Government deal with Microsoft to deliver £75m savings
Buying Solutions has hammered out a pan-public sector deal with software giant, Microsoft, aimed at cutting the public sector's software costs by up to £75m over the next five years.

28/4/2009Government plays hardball with health service IT suppliers
The Department of Health is getting tough with the lead suppliers to the NHS's National Programme for IT, wishing to 'open up the healthcare IT market to new suppliers and new technological developments'.

28/4/2009Central government failing on management of IT contracts
Civil servants are wasting millions of pounds a year on IT and outsourcing contracts and as the pressures on public finances increase to ever higher levels it cannot be countenanced, say MPs.

22/4/2009Councils to make more IT savings following Budget
Budget means councils must make back office IT savings and share more services if they are to balance books.

21/4/2009Better back office systems save money
The efficient use of back office IT systems and electronic procurement has contributed to more than £15bn of savings by the public sector in England.

01/4/2009New pilots announced to bring health and social care together
Patients in 16 pilot sites will benefit from a trial to see how health and social care services can join together to increase quality of care.

24/3/2009ContactPoint database halted
Work has been suspended on the government's controversial ContactPoint database of children amid security fears and mounting criticism.

23/3/2009Post Office has potential to become front office for government
The Post Office can turn itself into a real front office for government as it wins contract to supply driving licences.

23/3/2009Reform think tank condemns government databases
One in four government databases are illegal and should be scrapped, it claims.

17/3/2009Council outsourcing spend drives government IT spend of £8.5bn
The public sector is the most attractive market for software and IT services vendors in the UK in 2009, with local government outsourcing programs a key growth driver.

27/2/2009IT efficiency delivers council tax cut in London borough
Hammersmith & Fulham Council is cutting council tax bills by three per cent saying it is saving money by using IT more efficiently.

18/2/2009No CoCo. No housing benefit data. No joke.
Councils without a Government Connect Secure eXtranet (GCSx) connection will be left out in the cold when DWP switches to secure electronic communications only for housing benefits data on 1 April.

06/2/2009Councils' increasing use of surveillance, and data risks, are undermining freedom
The misuse of surveillance cameras and other snooping technologies by councils to catch litterbugs is undermining democracy.

03/2/2009Government taskforce calls for radical shake up of public sector data
More power to digital government and a freeing up of government data is the call in a report from the government-sponsored Power of Information Taskforce.

29/1/2009Government outlines plans for UK's digital Britain
The government has outlined its commitment to putting more public services online and that they will be designed for ease of use by the widest range of citizens.

28/1/2009Tories opt for open source software and better procurement
Shadow chancellor, George Osborne, has welcomed recommendations on how to deliver better value for money in IT procurement and create a level playing-field for open source software.

26/1/2009Council ICT upbeat - before recession hit
The world changed dramatically in the few short months between collecting data for Socitm's 22nd IT Trends 2008/9 survey and publication of the results.

20/1/2009Digital divide grows between home and school
Pupils are now using the internet less at school due to the frustration of low-tech access, suggesting that the education sector is failing to keep up with the expectations of the digital generation, finds a new study.

16/1/2009Government data sharing back on agenda
Controversial plans to widen powers of data sharing between civil servants and local government are included in new legislation.

05/1/2009Brown unveils digital action to end recession
Plans for massive investment in the UK's digital infrastructure and new jobs mean that Britain will come through the recession stronger, Gordon Brown has insisted.


2008 
14/11/2008Post Office awarded card account contract
The Post Office has been given a huge reprieve as it is awarded the contract to continue providing the Post Office Card Account.

10/11/2008People show government a better way
Recycling will become much easier for millions of people thanks to the winner of the government's Show Us A Better Way competition.

07/11/2008Scottish authorities launch jobs site
All 32 Scottish authorities are to advertise job vacancies on a single website.

06/11/2008Commission adopts plans to deliver telecare
The European Commission wants governments to improve broadband services to enable a wider use of remote monitoring between health and social care providers and patients.

29/10/2008Government unveils new role of digital champion
A new high profile Digital Champion will help to promote the government’s Digital Inclusion agenda.

28/10/2008Government says no to e-voting in 2009
The government will not use e-voting for next year’s local or European Parliament elections.

27/10/2008Local authorities given a key role in the delivery of digital inclusion.
Communities and Local Government has launched a local government support programme which underpins the government’s plan for delivering social inclusion through technology:

23/10/2008Social networks will complement, and may replace, some government functions
By 2011, 70 percent of social computing deployments in government that achieve business benefits will do so in unplanned or unexpected ways, it is claimed.

14/10/2008Government Connect pledges £2.25m local authority support package
The Government Connect programme has announced a £2.25m package of support to assist and encourage implementation by local authorities of the Government Connect Secure eXtranet.

14/10/2008Action plan tackles digital exclusion
Deputy digital minister, Wayne David, calls for concerted action to end the digital divide.

10/10/2008New research links digital inclusion and social impact
Learning about computers and the internet can help to improve the lives of disadvantaged groups, according to a new research report from UK online centres and Ipsos MORI.

08/10/2008Central government to lose IT jobs
Thousands of government computer jobs will be axed, a trade union has been told.

08/10/2008Councils must tighten belts
English councils are facing an uphill struggle to contribute to a further £4.9bn of back office savings before 2010.

03/10/2008Councils hit by credit crunch
The grim economic climate and rising inflation has left town halls having to find more than a billion pound of savings over the next three years to safeguard vital local services and keep council tax down, warns the LGA.

16/9/2008Hi-tech communications centres for disaster management
The roll-out of hi-tech communications vehicles for the fire and rescue service - a move which will help local authorities deal with a disaster - begins.

16/9/2008Ethnic minority groups continue to lead the way on digital take-up
Ethnic minority groups are at the forefront of digital communications in the UK, with high levels of mobile phone, internet and multichannel television take-up.

10/9/2008Improving public confidence in Scotland's online services
An expert group has been set up to help Scotland's public bodies protect individuals' privacy.

08/9/2008Reliability in partners is a number one priority
Local authorities believe that reliability in service delivery is a number one priority when working with a partner.

08/9/2008Technology gap broadens between citizens and local government
While people are embracing new technology, local government is behind the times when it comes to identity authentication.

15/8/2008Buying sustainable government and then turning it off
Cabinet Office minister, Tom Watson MP, has been appointed to take the lead on improving the way government can achieve sustainable operations and procurement objectives across departments.

01/8/2008YouTube used for top council job
A council leader in Norfolk is advertising for a new chief executive - by going on YouTube.

28/7/2008New interactive local crime maps in every area
Every neighbourhood in England and Wales will have access to the latest local crime information through new interactive crime maps.

24/7/2008One-stop shop for adapting to climate impacts
Climate Change minister, Joan Ruddock, has called on councils to develop imaginative and innovative approaches to deal with the impact of a changing climate.

18/7/2008Reducing avoidable contact - guidance on NI 14
IDeA has produced new guidance for local authorities on reducing avoidable contact with people.

17/7/2008Transformational government brings improvements
Light shone on transformational government progress as report says transformational government is enhancing service delivery.

17/7/2008Government wants computers to go green
The government says it plans to slash the carbon footprint of its computer systems.

16/7/2008A communications database would be a step too far
Any government run database holding the telephone and internet communications of the entire population would raise serious data protection concerns, warns information commissioner.

27/6/2008Prime minister sets out his vision for world-class public services
The prime minister has outlined his vision for transforming England's public services.

24/6/2008Former Logica chief appointed to government job
The government has appointed Logica’s former chief executive to head up the public sector's £13bn annual spend on IT.

18/6/2008Ads the way to do it
Lincolnshire County Council is selling space on its website to advertisers.

09/6/2008Britain edging towards surveillance society
A committee of MPs has called for new limits on the amount of data stored on the country's citizens, saying we are danger of becoming a surveillance society.

27/5/2008Twenty-seven police authorities given hand-held computers
Details of a £50m scheme to provide police forces with 10,000 hand-held computers have been unveiled but the police want more.

21/5/2008Online services help speed planning decisions
The use of online services has helped the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) hit 25 percent more of its key performance targets in 2007-08.

21/5/2008Computer technology finds council benefit fraud
Record levels of benefit fraud have been detected by a local government watchdog using computer technology.

16/5/2008The National Programme for IT in the NHS is proving to be an enormous challenge.
The roll out of the programme is four years behind schedule and some of it is unattainable, finds the government’s spending watchdog.

06/5/2008Innovator of the Year award for Hillingdon
Steve Palmer, Head of ICT at the London Borough of Hillingdon, was named as Public Sector Innovator of the Year at the UK Technology Innovation and Growth Awards.

29/4/2008MPs criticise government websites
The government’s website services could be vastly improved, it is claimed.

25/4/2008Gateway moves to DWP
A range of services that customers and businesses alike can access electronically has now moved to the DWP.

03/4/2008NI 14 - the final countdown
The definition of National Indicator 14 has changed with publication of the final indicator versions following consultation:

03/4/2008Directgov moves to DWP
Directgov has moved under the auspices of DWP as of April 2008.

03/4/2008Government sets up task force to improve communication through social media
Cabinet Office minister, Tom Watson, has announced the creation of the Power of Information Task Force.

02/4/2008Socitm to run Local Government CIO Council
Soctim is setting up a Local Government CIO Council which will report to the main Government CIO Council.

18/3/2008Government to launch green IT programme
A new Centre of Expertise is to be set up to help Whitehall departments achieve their targets for reducing carbon emissions and waste across the government estate.

14/3/2008Chiefs sceptical on shared services' savings potential


07/3/2008Review looks to maximise identity card positives
The Treasury has published an independent review on identity assurance.

06/3/2008Government unveils revised ID cards plan
The government has set out a new timetable for the roll out of identity cards in the UK.

04/3/2008New definition for NI14
The latest version of mandatory new performance indicator for local government on avoidable contact with people – National Indicator 14 - has been published.

03/3/2008Cameron calls for e-transparency
A future Conservative government would require local authorities to publish essential data about their performance and spending online and in a standard format, David Cameron, the Conservative Party leader has said.

25/2/2008Children's database insecurity due to councils' practices
The government's child database could never be secure because of councils' security practices, states a new report.

20/2/2008Switch off for E-Day
Switch off unused PCs and other electrical equipment on Wednesday 27 February to save energy on E-Day.

30/1/2008Public doubts government ability to transfer data
New research reveals that whilst 38 percent of citizens are still happy to share all their personal data, 88 percent are unconfident or very unconfident about how safely their personal data is currently being transferred between government departments.

22/1/2008Councils raise £10.8bn from fees and charges
Over a quarter of English councils generate more income from charging for services such as parking, school meals and swimming than they raise through council tax.

04/1/2008NI 14 'misses role of web in reducing avoidable contact'
The NI 14 indicator, even in its revised version published towards the end of the consultation period, fails to follow advice set out in the Varney report on the role of the web in reducing avoidable contact with citizens and businesses.

04/1/2008ICT has role to play in improving sustainability
Ninety eight percent of public sector organisations believe that IT and communications technology has a role to play in improving sustainability. Yet almost half (43%) have no plans or targets for achieving improvements.

03/1/2008Data loss culprits should be prosecuted
Council officials and IT consultants should face criminal charges if they put people's data security at risk through carelessness or impropriety, an influential group of MPs has said.

03/1/2008Efficiency and security top council IT chiefs' agenda says Socitm IT Trends 2007
Efficiency and security emerge as top issues on IT chiefs' agendas in 2007, based on findings from the latest edition of the Society of IT Management’s annual IT Trends survey


2007 
28/12/2007Petition power kicks off new responsibilities for councils
Local authorities will be forced to respond to petitions under new proposals from the government.

18/12/2007Savings for Welsh public sector with ground breaking online system
Welsh Assembly has given the go-ahead to a ground breaking project that will make the public sector in Wales the first place in the UK to have the opportunity to buy all its goods and services online.

03/12/2007Efficiency savings hinge on flexible IT
The efficiency savings required in the civil property estate can best be achieved by the introduction of flexible IT and working practices across government departments.

23/11/2007Millions of young people's futures could be compromised by their electronic footprint
Four and a half million young people would not want a college, or potential employer to conduct an internet search on them unless they could first remove content from social networking sites.

22/11/2007 'Trust' the next big challenge for e-government
EC report shows that the issue of trust in public authorities and technology systems is a major challenge for governments across Europe.

22/11/2007Public lack confidence in councils' computer security
Most users (85 percent) of online government services believe that their local authority's IT systems have probably already suffered a security breach at the hands of cybercriminals.

21/11/2007Safety fears for new social services database
Children and young people are worried about the security of information on the new ContactPoint database that will list details about all children in England.

20/11/200725m personal records 'lost in the post'
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has lost the child benefit records of 25m individuals 'in the post'. Paul Gray, HMRC chairman, has resigned.

15/11/2007Public knows its information rights from wrongs
The public’s awareness of its rights under the Data Protection Act has reached an all time high, says the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

15/10/2007Birmingham City Council's technology goes green
Birmingham City Council is using more energy efficient processes and green technologies to lessen its impact on the environment.

11/10/2007Sharing e-government needs standards
The public sector’s ability to deliver inter-department and inter-government integrated services will depend upon standards adoption, it is claimed.

10/10/2007Government's efficiency agenda could threaten local services
Councils say they will find it increasingly difficult to meet more demanding government savings targets without affecting front-line services as they come to grips with the implications of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review.

09/10/2007Empowering local government and communities
The Government's Comprehensive Spending Review published today promises new resources and flexibility for local government to deliver increased local prosperity and personalised public services, responsive to the needs of those who use them.

28/9/2007IT managers' carbon footprint must become green
Environmental issues will become one of the top five IT management priorities for local authorities within the next three years.

27/9/2007Beat police to get hand-helds
At the Labour Conference Gordon Brown pledged to provide 10,000 hand-held computers by next year to police in England and Wales as part of a drive to free officers from paperwork.

21/9/2007Council sacks workers for internet misuse
Nine office workers employed by Neath Port Talbot Council have lost their jobs after it was discovered that they were spending up to two hours a day on the website, eBay.

20/9/2007Shared services gather ground
The government's strategy for sharing services continues to gather pace but there is still no sign of the local government sector plan.

20/9/2007Minister calls for greener government IT
Public sector computer systems need to become greener, more efficient and more sustainable, says Merron.

19/9/2007Time to deliver on devolution
The government has unveiled the first phase of guidance for new Local Area Agreements - marking a radical letting go of Whitehall controls by giving councils and communities more power to decide their own local priorities.

18/9/2007UK has 'more mobiles than people'
There are now more mobile phones than people in the UK with one in ten having four or more devices.

27/8/2007New database could put children at risk
Social workers have given a warning about the dangers posed by a new government database that will store the details of every child in England from next year.

25/7/2007Nine unitary authorities announced for England
Local government minister, John Healey, has announced that nine proposals for unitary status in England are to go ahead.

25/7/2007New adviser on public service transformation
Gordon Brown has announced the appointment of Sir David Varney as his adviser on public service transformation.

03/7/2007Disadvantaged missing out as digital divide deepens
Those who are out of work, in poor health, live in social housing, live alone, or have a low level of qualification are being set at a further disadvantage by digital exclusion.

02/7/2007Technology offers improved learning capabilities
A four-year study shows that tailored learning through technology is the key route to educational improvement.

26/6/2007Data sharing can lead to faster, more efficient services
A trial to improve the way that DWP, HMRC and local authorities help customers has speeded up the processing of benefits and tax credits to customers in North Tyneside.

04/6/2007People faster than councils at moving to web services
Many key decision-makers in councils do not really appreciate how far or how fast citizens have migrated to the internet, and mobile phones, messaging and texting for all types of information and services, according to a new report.

25/5/2007Call for better data on flooding
The Thames Flood Forum is calling for better GIS systems to help plan for flooding.

08/5/2007Council IT departments must prepare to go green
Local government IT departments must take green IT issues seriously and prepare for how these issues will affect work priorities.

08/5/2007Digital divide continues to grow
Hopes that the digital divide would narrow have been shattered.

02/5/2007Local government on the move
Local authorities are starting to make fundamental changes in the way they run public services by adopting mobile technology and new working practices.

10/4/2007Chief Execs call for 'R&D' fund
Leading chief execs ask, 'why can't we have a cross cutting secretary of state' and a 'good ideas pot' to fund radical pilots to transform citizen services?

29/3/2007Millions for mobile technology to support social workers
Children's social workers in England are to receive a £13m boost to help pay for ICT.

27/3/2007Sixteen new unitary authorities go for consultation
Local government minister, Phil Woolas, has announced that 16 councils from 26 bidding for unitary status have been short listed to go forward for consultation.

26/3/2007Online government helps authorities get leaner
Local authorities should be using more technology to deliver leaner operational management to reduce inefficiencies, join up services and adopt a customer-led service culture.

21/3/2007Lyons calls for new government partnership
Sir Michael Lyons has published the much anticipated final report from his independent inquiry into the future role, function and funding of local government and calls for better Council Tax systems.

21/3/2007E-Government set to fail - unless a joined up approach is adopted
The current lack of a joined up approach to e-government will result in its failure, according to those involved with e-government projects.

14/3/2007Sunderland wins social and digital divide challenge
Sunderland was unveiled as the winner of Communities and Local Government's Digital Challenge competition.

12/3/2007Growth of snail mail
Local government's use of direct mail has increased even though most households now have access to the internet.

13/2/2007E-democracy story grabs headlines as cyber traffic gridlocks No 10 website


17/1/2007Government to create a citizens database as it consults on service delivery
A huge Whitehall citizens database of people's personal details could be created in a bid to improve public services.

12/1/2007Transformation plans sweeping central government and will impact on local government
Shared services plans for Whitehall departments will herald the introduction of widespread shared services across local government as the government publishes a report on Transformational Government.

05/1/2007Management gets smarter as councils’ IT spend is cut
ICT managers look to efficiencies, smarter procurement and shared service arrangements as IT spend falls back, finds IT Trends Survey.


2006 
12/12/2006Councils are missing opportunities to exploit website investments for efficient enquiry handling
A new report based on research into telephone enquiry handling by local authorities reveals danger of new silos emerging around phone and web channels.

12/12/2006Public sector bodies cost the economy half a billion pounds in hidden information markets
The OFT's market study into the commercial use of public information has found that more competition in public sector information could benefit the UK economy by around £1bn a year.

07/12/2006Transformation key to better government says Sir David Varney
Sir David Varney has published his report to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on ‘Service Transformation: a Better Service For Citizens and Businesses, a Better Deal for Taxpayers’.

17/11/2006Transformational government – it’s harder than you think
Achieving transformational change in the public sector is particularly challenging and complex says a government watchdog.

15/11/2006Mobility, mobility, mobility and how to save £21.5 billion
The largest ever survey of local government senior officers and staff to prove that mobility in the missing link in service delivery is launched.

15/11/2006Text me I'm a user of government services
Some users of council services would like to receive more information via text messages.

26/10/2006Data sharing at heart of transformational government
The costs of too little data sharing across the public sector far outweigh the potential risks involved, claims a new report.

26/10/2006Government unveils new vision for local government
More powers will be given to parish councils as government calls for greater autonomy at a local level and an end to 1,000 national indicators, leaving around 200.

16/10/2006Government Connect to be free for local authorities
Government Connect has received a major funding boost of £10m to be used towards installation and running costs for the GCSx solution and the Government Gateway for local authorities until March 2008.

10/10/2006New website helps local authorities access PFI expertise
A website enabling local authorities to access PFI and PPP expertise is launching at the SOLACE conference.

10/10/2006Identity cards come with a billion pound bill
Local government could face a multi-million pound bill as the government publishes key milestones for the introduction of identity cards.

02/10/2006Call for better information sharing
Information sharing between social services, police and health professionals is key to reducing violent deaths and serious assaults.

25/9/2006Mobile devices could change the face of local government
Councils across the UK are putting a new emphasis on the use of emerging and mobile technologies but nearly half say they have no idea how to integrate their back office systems into their CRM.

21/9/2006Teachers identify wireless as key to classroom of the future
More than two-thirds of teachers believe that wireless connectivity will be the most important technology in the classroom over the next five years.

21/9/2006E-auctions add to council efficiency gains
Local authorities in England have made 13 million pounds of savings since turning to e-procurement.

12/9/2006UK online centres to demonstrate digital dimension to social exclusion debate
The government is being urged to make use of the 6,000-strong network of community-based centres as part of its new Social Exclusion Action Plan.

01/9/2006Barriers to e-Government identified
Poor coordination, a lack of interoperability and resistance to change are the top three reasons for slowing progress of e-Government across Europe.

25/8/2006Scottish planning gets online
People across Scotland will be able to plug into the planning system with the click of a mouse thanks to £12m of Scottish Executive funding.

28/7/2006Transformational government to drive IT spend
Local government expenditure on t-government projects will fuel a sales bonanza for many ICT companies.

20/7/2006Transformational government gets new face
Sir David Varney is to work full time with chancellor, Gordon Brown, developing strategies for transforming the delivery of public services.

20/7/2006Top websites fail disabled users
The best council websites can cause usability and accessibility problems for people with disabilities including visual problems, impaired motor skills and dyslexia.

13/7/2006Government awards 1.2 million pounds to drive digital innovation
Ten national finalists who stepped up to take on the digital challenge - to create a world class example of a "wired up community" – have been announced by DCLG minister, Angela Smith.

28/6/2006Telecare services, supported by technology, will bring health and social care directly to people in their own homes
Technology in the home will soon be transforming the lives of thousands of patients in the UK - in part thanks to a major new government technology grant scheme, say health service managers.

13/6/2006Councils could save millions if they stopped back office duplication
The needless duplication of administrative functions in the public sector is costing taxpayers millions of pounds a year and damaging the effectiveness and efficiency of service delivery.

03/6/2006Online planning applications open door to identity fraudsters
Local planning authorities are aiding criminals to steal people's identities, says a security watchdog.

01/6/2006Detection of £111 million of fraud raises deterrent effect of audit clampdown
The Audit Commission's National Fraud Initiative (NFI) has sharply increased its success by detecting frauds and overpayments of £111 million.

24/5/2006E-government minister named
Angela Smith has been given the responsibility for e-government in the Department of Communities and Local Government.

11/5/2006Councils can save at least £15 million from direct debit switch
Audit Commission publishes a web tool helping councils to switch to direct debit.

08/5/2006Northern Ireland government IT market tops £550 million
The Northern Irish government IT market is expected to grow, despite the complex political and investment challenges the region faces.

03/5/2006Government changes tack and targets digital exclusion
The government is changing the aims and objectives of the digital strategy to focus on digital inclusion.

03/5/2006Tories target government use of technology
David Cameron is setting up a working group of business leaders and former civil servants to investigate ways of improving administrative competence and management practices within government.

27/4/2006Government IT to have new face
The government has appointed the man it expects to push through it programme of transformation of public service delivery.

10/4/2006Pioneering e-auctions slash costs of goods and services
Figures compiled by the Regional Centres of Excellence reveal that e-auctions can dramatically cut the cost of council goods and services, by an average of one quarter and by much more in some cases.

06/4/2006Buy better to deliver better services
Local authorities must focus on efficient and sustainable procurement if they are to deliver better services.

06/4/2006E-government a huge success
England is the most e-connected country in the world, says local government minister

06/4/2006E-government is dead, long live transformation
Councils must return to true meaning of e-government and deliver greater efficiencies.

03/4/2006Scottish authorities move to save £500 million on computer expenditure
Scottish Parliament ministers are hoping to save up to £500m a year by unifying computer systems across the public sector, reports The Herald.

30/3/2006Local government at tipping point and transformation must happen
The challenge for local authorities is to seize the opportunities for reshaping local public services - to lead change rather than have it imposed upon them, says the government in a new discussion document.

28/3/2006Directgov moves from Cabinet Office to COI
The Cabinet Office has announced the move of Directgov from its e-Government unit to the Central Office of Information, COI, with effect from 1 April.

27/3/2006Government Connect moves North
Local authority sponsorship of the Government Connect programme is to migrate from Bolton MBC to the North West e-Government Group (NWeGG) under the sponsorship of Tameside.

14/3/2006Partnership needed to deliver efficiency gains
National targets for improving public services cannot be achieved by central government diktat.

28/2/2006Local government edges towards efficiency targets
Most English councils have reached their e-government targets, finds the government, but unless take-up is increased efficiency gains will take longer to realise.

27/2/2006Online take-up on the up for school admissions
Parents are increasingly hitting the keyboard rather than the post box when applying for school places.

17/2/2006Progress made on Gershon - maybe
The National Audit Office finds that many public sector organisations are making good progress towards achieving Gershon targets.

15/2/2006E planning targets smashed by local authority performance
Local planning authorities (LPAs) have surpassed tough government standards for e-planning, new figures show.

31/1/2006IT accessibility gap for disabled widens
Eight million disabled people are fast being left behind by the quickening pace of technology's development.

25/1/2006New guidance for e-Government
The ODPM's keynote report released at the EU e-government ministers summit in Manchester last year is now available to a wider public.

03/1/2006Local authorities exceeding targets for efficiency gains
Local authorities in England are still on track to exceed their targets for efficiency gains for 2005/06.


2005 
23/12/2005Local e-government transforms the provision of local services
The provision of local services has been transformed as local authorities will be over 97 percent e-enabled by the turn of the year.

21/12/2005Citizens must come first in next wave of e-Government
The EU says that people must come first as egovernment rolls out across the community, and no-one should be excluded.

20/12/2005E-government moves up government ladder
The government's continued push to streamline public services gains new momentum as Ian Watmore is appointed head of the Prime Minister’s delivery unit.

08/12/2005The next e-steps to benefit the citizen
How often do people actually contact their local council? Most of the time, the answer is likely to be, ‘only when they feel they need to’.

08/12/2005Concerns raised over councils' future commitment to ICT-facilitated transformation
Council ICT spending is well below that of organisations that use ICT aggressively to deliver their business - casting doubt on local authorities' commitment to transformation.

25/11/2005Europe's government websites fail on accessibility
The UK Cabinet Office has published a comprehensive report on accessibility of government online services across the European Union and finds widespread failings that must be addressed.

25/11/2005Europe's government websites fail on accessibility
The UK Cabinet Office has published a comprehensive report on accessibility of government online services across the European Union and finds widespread failings that must be addressed.

22/11/2005Creative thinking needed on government databases
The government should promote research into knowledge technologies that facilitate the benefits of linking personal datasets.

16/11/2005Eight out of ten unhappy with CRM
Most local authorities are say that their CRM programmes have fallen short of expectations.

11/11/2005E-use campaign launched for 2006
A national campaign designed to raise public awareness and encourage take-up of under-used council e-services is announced.

10/11/2005Councils told to scrap old IT systems and share services
Scrapping old IT systems and sharing services could save councils £140 million a year, according to a report published by the Audit Commission.

03/11/2005Government publishes plans for the future of e-government
The Government has announced a new drive to deliver major efficiencies for tax payers by merging back office functions in public services.

24/10/2005Local authority e-procurement comes of age
Local government procurement professionals must become better at internally marketing what they can do to support the Efficiency Programme within a council. To do that they need to develop an internal marketing strategy, demonstrate evidence of how they can deliver efficiencies and council objectives, says IDeA.

22/10/2005Child champion challenges national child database plans
The man who chaired the 2003 inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie has challenged plans for a national database containing every child's details.

14/10/2005Government sketches out future of e-government
The government has asked the Central Office of Information to undertake a feasibility study into undertaking a national campaign to promote the take-up of local e-services early in 2006.

04/10/2005Local e-government minister launches Phase 2 of Government Connect
A programme which seeks to provide improved security for online transactions between public organisations has been praised by minister for Local e-Government, Jim Fitzpatrick.

26/9/2005Think big with less resource for e-government
Council must think big and work in collaboration not just with each other but with many other organisations in a bid to bring about efficiency gains as e-government funds dry up, say the local government minister.

22/9/2005Listen to staff or ICT reform will fail
The views of frontline public sector workers are not being heard despite being crucial to the success of large-scale Information and Communication Technology projects.

14/9/2005Teachers lack confidence in new technology
Few teachers are making full use of the government's £1bn investment in computers for schools.

07/9/2005Intervention needed to make e-government work
Time could heal the digital divide but effective government intervention would be better, says a new report.

05/9/2005Mapping sign-up
The majority of local authorities (99.46%) have signed up to the Mapping Service Agreement (MSA) for local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales.

30/8/2005Technology failing to bridge digital divide
More poor people and other disadvantaged groups are being excluded from the benefits that using new technology brings.

23/8/2005 English councils on ‘e’ home straight
English local authorities are on the home straight to meeting the 2005 e-targets, says local e-government minister, Jim Fitzpatrick.

23/8/2005 £7.5m to ‘connect government’
Government Connect is to get £7.5m in 2005/06 to support its development and initial roll-out as the project seeks to provide improved security for on-line transactions between public organisations.

03/8/2005Mapping Service Agreement live
IDeA has confirmed agreement of the final stage of a national Mapping Service Agreement (MSA) on behalf of local authorities for the co-ordinated use of digital mapping, addressing, and geographic data.

01/8/2005Authorities are cheating on e-government compliance
Councils are cheating on their claims of e-government readiness, finds new research.

24/7/2005Online planning boost
The Government has finalised the highest ever allocation under the Planning Delivery Grant (PDG) to further improve and speed up planning performance - and much of the money looks set to be spent on IT systems.

11/7/2005Public wants to see wider use of IT in government
IT must be used in all in public services if people are to get the service levels they want - but local and central government must match the right technology to the right people.

04/7/2005Collapse in support for ID cards
The Government's plans for identity cards look increasingly shaky as public support for the scheme collapses.

04/7/2005IT suppliers hit out at adverse newspaper coverage
Intellect has slammed a London Evening Standard article which suggests that government modernisation plans are only good for computer companies.

15/6/2005Public sector fails on citizen data capture
Over half of all public sector organisations admit to inaccurate citizen data, finds new research.

14/6/2005Councils to test road charging
The Government will be looking for councils to test out local electronic road charging schemes.

09/6/2005Public sector ICT fraud and abuse a major risk
ICT fraud and abuse are still posing major problems to public sector organisations - to and those who use their services.

26/5/2005Underpinning spatial addressing
Plans for a new national spatial address infrastructure building on the work already undertaken by Ordnance Survey and local government have been unveiled by ODPM, Ordnance Survey and the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) for local government.

26/5/2005Defining e-service delivery
Havering Council is tasked by the OPDM to be the lead authority to devise 15 sets of workable, pragmatic and easily understood e-service delivery standards.

24/5/2005Be smarter or e-government will founder
Economic crises, privatisation, budget cuts, the continuing evolution of e-government and increasing scrutiny from citizens mean that public-sector organisations of the future will need to be more citizen-focused, more business-like and smarter in their use of technology.

21/5/2005Happiness is in-house ICT
Councils that have outsourced their ICT service are less likely to be happy with the ongoing service than councils that run an in-house service.

28/4/2005Secure data sharing essential for e-government
Secure data sharing has a vital role to play in the e-government agenda and should be seen as a foundation stone for integrated government rather than a ‘nice to have’.

08/4/2005Basic mistakes mar council web sites
Many local authority web sites lack functionality and are inaccessible to users, claims new research.

31/3/2005Market local e-government or people won't use it
Targeted marketing communications campaigns have the potential to drive take-up of local e-channels finds new National Project research.

22/3/2005Connect for efficient transactions
The Government hopes its new Government Connect initiative will prove a major step forward in improving security for local authorities’ online transactions.

02/3/2005More e-procurement, please
Councils’ achievements in improving procurement is laying firm foundations for the efficiency agenda, finds new research.

02/3/2005Shared-services can achieve strategic goals
The vast majority of government executives in a worldwide survey believe that shared IT services are important to helping them achieve their organisations' strategic goals.

02/3/2005Public sector leads way on flexible working
Local government and other public sector organisations are ahead of other sectors with the uptake of videoconferencing (56%) and teleconferencing (78%) – using the technology to offer staff new, flexible ways of working.

01/3/2005Online Priority Outcomes a ‘struggle’
Local authority websites are continuing to improve in terms of their content and usability but there is little evidence of a major surge forward towards the 100% electronic service delivery targets.

24/2/2005e-Citizen ready and waiting
Latest research shows that up to 46 percent of the adult population of England are ready and waiting to use local authority e-channels.

23/2/2005Talking the same public sector language
A new Public Sector Vocabulary goes live on April 4 to help citizens and customers - as well as public servants - get easier and more efficient access to information through public sector websites.

21/2/2005ODPM hands National Projects to councils
Ownership of products developed by the Local e-Government National Projects is to be offered directly to local authorities as part of the long term strategy for local e-government.

16/2/2005IT has a supporting role in delivering better services
People and money are the key issues for improving public services, but ICT also has a supporting role finds new research.

08/2/2005Joining up does not come naturally
Multi-agency joined up delivery is a complex challenge, says ESRC. And it won’t work without adequate training.

03/2/2005E-government – on target and bringing savings
Councils will not only meet the 2005 e-deadline, says local government minister, Phil Hope, but in doing so they have set themselves on the path to delivering £1.2 billion in efficiency savings by 2008.

28/1/2005Technology delivers efficient local government
Streamlined back offices and e-procurement initiatives are helping local authorities deliver efficiency gains, says the Government as it issues further information on how local authorities will be helped to deliver efficiency gains.

11/1/2005UK third in use of e-government
The UK is making rapid progress towards the deployment of an e-government strategy, finds new research.

01/1/2005FOI – the Act is upon us
The Freedom of Information Act came into full effect today, giving individuals the statutory right to see a massive amount of information held by Government departments and thousands of public bodies.


2004 
01/1/2005FOI – the Act is upon us
The Freedom of Information Act came into full effect today, giving individuals the statutory right to see a massive amount of information held by Government departments and thousands of public bodies.

17/12/2004New e-minister
David Miliband MP is the new minister for e-government at the Cabinet Office.

15/12/2004Councils plug into £90 million Scottish investment
Two pathfinder projects in the north and south of Scotland are to receive up to £90 million in funding to ensure a network of high-speed internet access for rural schools and libraries.

09/12/2004Will the public be able to use e-services?
A new survey has revealed a lack of computing skills in the general population that casts doubt on the public’s ability to use e-government services.

07/12/2004Councils spend £2.7bn on e-gov quest
With councils now spending £2.7bn a year on technology, IT heads are bullish about the benefits that e-government programmes will deliver to citizens.

23/11/2004Home Office to press ahead with electronic ID cards
The Queen's Speech has confirmed Government plans for the introduction of identity cards.

11/11/2004E-progress good, but e-targets may be missed
Local government officers believe that their authorities are actively pursuing and making good progress towards e-government targets but they are still concerned about missing the December 2005 deadline.

10/11/2004Get on board with e-benefits
Phil Hope, minister for local e-government at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), has urged councils to "get on board now" with the e-Benefits National Project.

07/11/2004Welsh e-vision needs focus
The e-public services vision is a long way off being realised in Wales, finds a new report that suggests a refocusing on e-government in the region.

22/10/2004Welsh IT projects save money
The Welsh Assembly’s public sector review targets technology as key to lowering government costs in the region.

14/10/2004If we build it, will they use it?
Local authorities look set to meet the 2005 targets, but will anyone use their services?

12/10/2004Better access to digital technologies
The Cabinet Office has published the report of the Digital Inclusion Panel, which has identified social groups at most risk of digital exclusion and actions to encourage them to take up Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that can help improve their lives.

07/10/2004Get hands on for e-2005
The ODPM’s Local e-Government National Projects Programme is running a series of experience sharing workshops to help spread the news about its national e-government projects.

29/9/2004Secret lives of the silver surfers
Once encouraged on to the net, Silver Surfers are breaking traditional images of what they do online... and loving it, finds a new survey.

28/9/2004NLIS completes three million searches
Electronic conveyancing searches made by lawyers on behalf of homebuyers in England and Wales has passed the three million milestone using NLIS.

20/9/2004UK’s future on the map
Local authorities have been asked to submit their comments in a new consultation to determine the country’s future mapping needs.

30/8/2004Government to continue with electronic voting
Government sources have confirmed that the Government will continue with electronic voting trials following a damming report into postal voting.

17/8/2004Sleepwalk to surveillance?
The UK ‘risks sleepwalking into a surveillance society’ over government plans for ID cards and a population register, says the Information Commissioner.

13/8/2004Planning for the future
The ODPM has published its vision for a 'world-class' e-planning service. The e-Planning Blueprint.

04/8/2004Big WEEE shock
A third of local authority IT buyers still haven't heard about impending IT environmental legislation, the WEEE directive, never mind understand its potential cost.

04/8/2004Building the community-wide web
The number of government services available online is not important, says the Work Foundation – it’s the number of people who use these services that counts.

29/7/2004Planning goes online in Scotland
People in Scotland will soon be able to submit planning applications online, facilitating individuals and communities to link up with the planning system.

22/7/2004Online source of junk mail
A new study suggests that councils could be adding to the UK’s junk mail problem by not capturing customer address information on-line.

15/7/2004E-government? What’s that?
Three quarters of the British public have not so far noticed the impact of current investment in the e-government initiative.

13/7/2004IT managers not taking holidays
Council IT managers are in danger of becoming too afraid to put their feet up and go on holiday, according to a survey conducted by the Chartered Management Institute.

04/6/2004Council heads lobby for local e-government
Council IT managers are seeking reassurance from the new government e-supremo, Ian Watmore, that future e-government policy will take local government issues fully in to account.

27/5/2004Directgov success ‘unlikely’
Almost two-thirds of people working in the UK e-government sector (59%) do not believe the government's new flagship website, Directgov, will have any more impact than UK online, the service it replaces.

26/5/2004New e-head and new e-body
UK e-government has a new leader, Ian Watmore, and a new unit to lead the troops in meeting the 2005 e-deadlines.

14/5/2004Directgov lacks local direction
Local content is an essential component of any first-stop portal to government services, say UKauthorITy.com readers, yet Directgov lacks local government input.

04/5/2004E-government worldwide failing consumer test
Most people who use government web sites do so primarily for information rather than transactions

29/4/2004Government defines ‘e-council’
The Government has published its definition of ‘what an e-enabled council should look like’ in a bid to help all local councils reach the 2005 target.

26/4/2004National ID card scheme is unveiled as society cure-all
Legislation to establish a secure national ID card scheme to ensure the UK and its citizens are equipped for the challenges of the 21st century is published.

23/4/2004UK public sector wasting billions on IT projects
Billions of pounds are wasted every year on new IT systems, according to a report published by the Royal Academy of Engineering and the British Computer Society.

21/4/2004E-UK a world leader
The UK ranks second in the latest table for ‘e-readiness’ finds new research. And much of this success is thanks to e-government developments.

14/4/2004Disabled denied access to web services
Many disabled people find it impossible to use government web sites, book a holiday, open a bank account or buy theatre tickets online, finds an investigation by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC).

05/4/2004First county meets 2005 deadline
Surrey claims to be the first county council in the UK to beat the national deadline for making 100 percent of its suitable services available electronically - 21 months ahead of schedule.

05/4/2004EU democracy not transformed by ICT
ICT has yet to deliver significant benefits in terms of transformation of democracy in Europe.

31/3/2004National Projects – the view from the front line
Seven in ten local authorities intend to use outputs from the local e-government National Projects (NPs). But only 40 percent are confident that the projects will deliver in time for them to meet the 2005 deadline.

22/3/2004Web sites failing on web accessibility
Local government – better than the rest at web accessibility, but could do better, finds a new survey.

16/3/2004E-innovation beyond 2005
Thirty-four cutting-edge projects to develop the local e-government agenda beyond 2005 have won a share of £6.2 million from the e-innovations fund.

04/3/2004Database of children at risk to be set up
Children's minister, Margaret Hodge, has outlined the government's plans to order local authorities to bring together services for children.

01/3/2004Direct to Government
The Office of the e-Envoy has unveiled the first stage of the Government's new on-line service which aims to provide one-stop access to central government services.

23/2/2004Data integration key to joined up services
The progressive application of data integration in the public sector is crucial to the success of joining up government, claims a new white paper.

19/2/2004Gershon upbeat on Whitehall e-efficiency gains
The Gershon review of government is expected to make radical recommendations on the future use of on-line services.

18/2/2004Older people need technology
Audit Commission findings support the use of assistive technology in maintaining independence and reducing care costs for the elderly.

16/2/2004ODPM pushes forward on e-planning
Communities across the country will benefit from advances in e-planning with a faster, more efficient planning system.

05/2/2004Invest to save money to join up information systems
Better information systems for local government and other services are part of a £46 million investment to deliver better public services announced by the Treasury and the Cabinet Office.

04/2/2004Language of success in XML trials
The Office of Government Commerce has announced the successful completion of its ‘Proof of Concept’ XML assessment trials. It hopes that the resulting single IT language will revolutionise the way government suppliers conduct business with the public sector.

28/1/2004Government wrong on e-priorities say IT managers
Local government IT managers have branded the Government's priorities for e-government as ‘unhelpful’.

27/1/2004European e-gov interoperability framework
The European Commission has published guidelines on how to make government IT systems talk to each other to provide pan-European e-government services.

23/1/2004Home PCs improve IT skills
Having a computer at home promotes better skills, productivity and work-life balance.

15/1/2004E-election CORE
The Government has announced plans to create a national e-election CORE – a Co-ordinated Online Register of Electors – in its attempts to bring the reality of a fully e-enabled general election sometime after 2006 one step closer.

09/1/2004IT users – a necessary evil?
The majority of IT managers apparently have a dim view of computer users when it comes to information management – viewing them as ‘security incidents waiting to happen’ or a ‘necessary evil’.


2003 
22/12/2003Cleaning up Acacia Avenue
The Acacia Programme has published a report on the first phase of piloting and research work in its quest to clean up national property data – and says that the vision is ‘technically feasible’.

17/12/2003Life chances harmed by the digital divide
People excluded from the use of new technology are increasingly facing reduced opportunities as a result, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr).

16/12/2003Progress being made on e-2005
Local authorities across the country are progressing well towards the 2005 e-target says the ODPM as it publishes IEG 3 results - but 35 councils must re-submit their e-government plans and the Government is stepping up support.

15/12/2003E-envoy to go
The post of e-envoy is to be abandoned as the Cabinet Office takes on the lead role for electronic government.

09/12/2003Councils spend £2.5bn on ICT
Councils will spend nearly £2.5 billion on technology this year but many still think they may miss the 2005 e-government deadline.

04/12/2003ID card plans move into test phase
The Government has started to lay the foundations for a compulsory identity card scheme with a trial of biometric technology.

24/11/2003Sharing data – how far can you go?
The Government has published guidance to clarify the existing legal powers available to public authorities to share personal data.

11/11/2003Compulsory ID cards for councils head over horizon
Government plans to introduce a national ID card as a gateway to council services have been put on an unlit backburner.

06/11/2003UK best for interactive e-government
The UK has the most interactive e-government in the world, finds a study by the United Nations.

05/11/2003Why do you need to share data?
People have very little knowledge about the personal information held by public authorities and do not understand why information needs to be shared between departments.

27/10/2003UK government needs to get on speaking terms with citizens
Despite a government investment of around £5 billion in a drive to put services on-line, many UK citizens, including the disadvantaged and the young, would much rather deal with local authorities over the phone.

22/10/2003Procurement strategy goes National
The National Procurement Strategy for Local Government – which includes a call for councils to implement e-procurement solutions by 2005 and access an e-marketplace by 2006 - has been launched.

23/9/2003ID cards could be compulsory for accessing council services
David Blunkett wants to see the introduction of a national identity card, and wants a bill for their introduction to be included in the Queen's Speech.

19/9/200321st Century public library for the digital citizen
Resource has launched its ‘Master Plan’ for transforming public libraries across England into centres of knowledge, learning, creativity and inspiration, fit for the citizen of the 21st Century.

16/9/2003Financial e-boost for cutting edge councils
Cutting edge local authorities could be in line for a cash boost from a new £14 million e-innovations fund.

10/9/2003Single database for children at heart of social services reform
Every child in England could be given a single identity number linked to a local authority information hub under plans published by the Government.

22/8/2003Call centres must do better
Local and central government contact centres must be built around meeting citizens' needs and not processes, according to new guidance published for consultation.

13/8/2003Local authorities worldwide struggle to provide CRM
The Government could miss its e-deadline as local authorities struggle to get to grips with CRM, finds new research.

07/8/2003Most schools now wired to the Web
Over 99 percent of schools have access to the Internet, finds new research.

17/7/2003On line registration for births and deaths
People will soon be able to register birth and death on-line or by telephone.

17/7/2003IT departments failing to deliver better value
IT departments are not delivering a good enough service to internal users - let alone the thousands of users they will be supporting in the community from 2005.

04/7/2003e-Envoy publishes best practice guidance for local government web managers on how to design and maintain accessible web sites
In particular, it outlines ten key best practice guidelines for UK local government web sites.

03/7/2003Authorities shun Pathfinder projects for e-guidance
Authorities failing to meet their e-government targets would rather turn to the private sector for help than the Government's flagship e-government sites.

23/6/2003The range of skills needed by Heads of ICT and e-champions if they are to deliver successful e-government programmes is to be examined
Socitm, SOLACE and SOCPO are collaborating to explore the governance of e-government as concerns grow over the tools used to measure the success of programmes.

18/6/2003Information technology fails to meet needs of local authority performance culture
Management data is not provided in a format that helps local authorities to quickly identify processes that need to be changed to improve performance against Key Performance Indicators, reveals new research.

17/6/2003As broadband connections reach two million and domestic internet connections flourish, local government remains slow to embrace the Web.
According to a new survey 80 percent of authorities lack detailed on-line help and over a half are unable to answer an e-mail in less than a week.

10/6/2003IEG process still needs improvement claim IT managers
The annual exercise for local authorities of putting together an Implementing Electronic Government Statement to obtain funds for e-government should be much easier and simpler.

05/6/2003National CRM Programme to transform local government customer service
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Government e-Envoy are backing a £4.25 million initiative to create the definitive local government CRM strategy.

05/6/2003National database of disabled services needed
Out-of-date information held by local authorities means that disabled people are getting a raw deal.

20/5/2003£26 million local e-government boost
Eighty-two innovative local e-government projects - from 'smart' library and transport cards to a shared database on abandoned cars – are to receive a share of £26 million Government funding.

19/5/2003e-GMS mark II
The Office of the e-Envoy has published the second version of its e-Government Metadata Standard (e-GMS). This updated standard supports the policy on metadata outlined in the e-Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF).

16/5/2003Legal framework a block to e-government
E-government progress is in danger of being held back by the current legal quagmire of data protection and freedom of information law, finds a new survey.

14/5/2003E-government failing to deliver cost savings in England
Most local government managers are yet to be convinced that e-government is reducing costs and freeing up staff time.

24/4/2003Chicken or egg – the immortal ICT question
A new report from Socitm presents evidence of a link between an authority’s CPA result and the quality of its ICT service but fails to ascertain which comes first – a well managed council or above par ICT.

11/4/2003UK government spending on IT continues to grow
UK Government investment in IT is expected to show double digit growth in the next few years. And government's across Europe are making significant progress towards meeting the EU 2005 deadline for the electronic delivery of a wide range of services to internal customers, partners, and citizens, finds a new survey.

11/4/2003e-Government becoming customer focused
Government executives worldwide are becoming increasingly comfortable with using the term ‘customer’ to describe the citizens and businesses they serve, finds a new report. And they are apparently recognising that the principles of customer relationship management form a basis for sound e-government.

03/4/2003Local government must help bridge internet divide
The Government's vision is for an on-line nation with internet access for all those who want it by 2005. But local government must pull its weight to stop the development of a digital divide.

01/4/2003Privacy and data-sharing consultation fails to grab attention
A major consultation into data sharing has received only a small number of responses – most from the public sector - and failed to develop any new lines of arguments.

11/3/2003Home Office revises e-mail snoopers charter
The Home Office has published two revised proposals to regulate access to telephone, internet and e-mail records by public sector organisations, having withdrawn plans to allow councils greater access to personal data following an outcry from civil liberties organisations and internet service providers.

20/2/2003Elderly must be e-encouraged
More needs to be done to encourage older people – an increasingly large proportion of the population - to use government e-services if those services are to provide value for money, says the National Audit Office (NAO).

17/2/20032005 a milestone not a target
Achieving the Government's 2005 e-government deadline should be viewed as passing a milestone, not as a means to an end in itself.

11/2/2003Technology at heart of library revolution
Modern libraries should be part of the information and communication technology (ICT) revolution and offer advice on setting up community web sites.

06/2/2003E-government gives cause for concern
Alarm bells sound as fears grow for lack of take-up of on line services.

29/1/2003Child protection database call
A national child protection database should be implemented within the next two years, says the Laming report into the death of Victoria Climbié.

27/1/2003Government blows cold on ID card
Entitlement Cards could help tackle identity fraud, illegal working and immigration as well as help people access services, but the government is still unsure about their introduction.

23/1/200318 councils get e-vote go ahead
Eighteen councils have been won the Government go ahead on their plans to trial e-voting in May’s local elections, giving over one and a half million voters the opportunity to cast their vote via the Net, digital TV or text message.

21/1/2003Government snubs e-government for new funding
Local authority chief executives have been told that they should not submit e-government projects for Invest to Save funds.

21/1/2003Older people give thumbs down to e-government
Public take-up of local government on-line services could remain low for at least the next ten years, according to research that shows older people shunning the Internet and most people preferring to use the telephone to access services.

13/1/2003Simple ID card a boon for duckers and divers
The new Information Commissioner is warning that a national identity card scheme would increase identity theft and fail to tackle social security fraud.


2002 
30/12/2002Government web sites fail to attract needy
Poorly-designed Government web sites are failing to attract the young, senior citizens and people from disadvantaged groups – those who are most in need of the information they provide.

19/12/2002National ID card to use biometric technology
Moves by the Government to introduce a national ID card using biometric technology have taken a step forward.

18/12/2002E-envoy should target failing e-councils
A powerful group of MPs wants the government's IT czar to take greater responsibility for councils that are failing to meet e-targets.

11/12/2002Half of local authorities failing e-targets
Less than half of the 441 local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland say that they are on target to meet the Government's 2005 deadline for 100 percent electronic service delivery.

11/12/2002Support for entitlement card
Public support is growing for the Government’s proposals on Entitlement Cards, Home Office minister, Lord Falconer, will say today at the Privacy International Conference held at the London School of Economics.

05/12/2002Planning world unites to attack Planning Bill
The Government has been given a stark warning that, in its hurry to streamline the planning system, it risks eroding democratic control over future developments.

03/12/2002Network UK – the future
A new report from the Strategy Unit – which reports to the prime minister via the Cabinet Office - looks ahead at the future shape of electronic networks over the next decade, and at how policy and regulation needs to respond.

28/11/2002Local e-Gov
The Government has unveiled its new building block strategy for local government to develop e-government services - a National Strategy for local e-government.

20/11/2002‘New’ strategy for e-government
The third annual report on the state of the UK online nation was launched at the e-Summit in London yesterday, outlining a proclaimed ‘new’ strategy for e-government.

07/11/2002UK e-government trails the world
Just 13 percent of adults in Britain have used the Internet to access government services or products during the past 12 months, finds new research from Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS).

04/11/2002Government failing to deliver e-government via Web
A new report claims that three-quarters of Government web sites are in need of immediate attention in one area or another.

31/10/2002Research blow to e-government
Thirty percent of people have never used a computer, finds new research by a government department - and only one in seven people over retirement age has done so.

28/10/2002Electronic record management at the heart of modern government
The effective management of an individual's electronic records is at the heart of the Government's strategy to modernise the delivery of public services.

10/10/2002Less than 50% of sign up to joined up property searches
The Government still has much arm twisting to do if it is to achieve its aim of encouraging local authorities to sign up to electronic planning searches.2

09/10/2002More government services get on-line
Fifty-two percent of government services are now e-enabled and 71 percent are forecast to be made available by the end of the year, claims the latest report from the Government's e-envoy.

07/10/2002Council ICT – could do better
Seventy one percent of Best Value inspections on council ICT services resulted in a verdict ‘poor’ or ‘fair’. None were rated excellent.

30/9/2002Pinder’s revised channel strategy
E-envoy, Andrew Pinder, has published the latest version of the Government's channel framework document.

27/9/2002E-councils progress
English councils have made real progress towards delivering e-government in a relatively short time, claims John Thornton, director of e-government at the IDeA.

25/9/2002Inability to implement IT key to project failure
The Government is re-launching its drive to improve project delivery skills of civil servants tasked with managing complex or major government projects.

29/8/2002Government must find out what services are wanted on-line, say MPs
An influential group of MPs has told the Government it must step up efforts to get on-line public services that people want to use and not waste resources in providing services that are not wanted and will not be used.

29/8/2002The impact of ICT on environmental sustainability - call for tenders
The European Commission's Joint Research Centre has announced a call for tenders for a study on the future impact of information and communication technologies on environmental sustainability.

14/8/2002Public sector wary of e-mail
Since the Jo Moore debacle nearly eight out of ten (79%) of civil servants admit to being more wary about the e-mails they send at work.

12/8/2002Delivering effective e-services
The effective use of IT can deliver better public services designed around the user, says Pinder.

31/7/2002Council to sell IT services to other authorities
Liverpool City Council is to create a pioneering new company to help run services, including IT, for other local authorities - creating local jobs and bringing in revenue to the council coffers.

29/7/2002Government endorses national projects
The Government has embarked on a joined up drive to encourage councils to speed up the property buying process by endorsing a national e-conveyancing and land and property gazetteer system.

19/7/2002Central support needed to deliver local e-gov
Councils need more support if they are to achieve delivery of better services through the successful implementation of e-government, says the Audit Commission. Councils need more support if they are to achieve delivery of better services through the successful implementation of e-government, says the Audit Commission.

11/7/2002EU urges councils to share software
European local governments should share open source software resources, says a new report published by European Commission

08/5/2002Majority of e-government initiatives fail or fall short of expectations
More than 60 percent of all e-government initiatives either fail or fall short of expected outcome finds a new world-wide study, and the practical problems of implementing e-government initiatives usually overwhelm the original political intent.

25/4/2002Government on the Web – must try harder says NAO
The Office of the e-Envoy has given a clear cultural lead from the centre to departments, says the NAO, but it must now move beyond just campaigning for e-government to emphasising actual implementation.

24/4/2002Joined-up government means joined-up data
The e-GMS, the finer technical standards for enabling joined-up public sector data, and thus information systems, has been published on the Web.

08/4/2002Local e-gov strategy still not finished
A definitive national strategy for local e-government will not appear before autumn, local government minister, Nick Raynsford, has admitted. The minister was launching a draft national strategy today, e-gov@local, which is open for consultation until 28 June.

05/4/2002Government acts to ring fence IEG grants
The Government is determined that funds allocated to local government from the £350 million Local Government On-Line Programme should not be diverted to other expenditure streams.

13/3/2002Interoperability framework for e-Government published
Part one of the fourth version of the e-Government Interoperability Framework is now available for consultation on the govtalk website.

13/3/2002E-Government will cause a funding crisis for local government
Despite grants from central government to assist local authorities in Implementing Electronic Government, vital E-Government investment is set to create a massive funding crisis for local government running into billions of pounds.

08/3/2002E-envoy calls for local government routemap
Local government is being encouraged to produce a single national e-strategy to deliver local services.

05/3/2002Just four council web sites ready for e-government
A review of every local authority web site in the UK finds clear evidence that sites are not improving fast enough to meet the e-government agenda. Whilst four are judged to be ready for e-government, four councils were found not to have a web site at all.

25/2/2002IT at heart of government delivery
The use of technology has raised expectations in people's minds which have not been met.

06/2/2002National ID on the cards
National ID cards have moved a step closer with a plan for a government entitlement card.

06/2/2002E-envoy wants universal access to Net
E-envoy, Andrew Pinder, wants to increase peoples' access to the Internet.

28/1/2002Electronic data on children invades privacy
Many head teachers and school governors think the new form of the annual school census is an invasion of privacy.


2001 
21/12/2001Government seeks to join up e-strategy to policy
The Office of the e-Envoy has published new guidelines for policy makers across government designed to ensure that new government policies are effective in the e-world.

10/12/2001E-gov indicator should reflect local needs
Socitm is lobbying DTLR for changes to Best Value Performance Indicator 157, which aims to measure councils’ progress in meeting e-targets, to reflect citizens’ uptake of services.

06/12/2001Government web sites stagnate
Seventy five percent of government and agency web sites have been found to contain out-of-date or incorrect information.

06/12/2001Uncharted e-waters
The Tories are claiming that the Government is “missing the boat on e-government”.

03/12/2001Councils IT spend outstrips inflation
Seven out of ten authorities increased expenditure on information and communications technology (ICT) faster than the rate of inflation last year, yet SOCITM's annual IT Trends Survey finds that many authorities are having to dig deep in order to fund projects to meet e-government targets.

03/12/2001Health trusts and local authorities edge towards joined up government.
Cultural and geographical differences are making it difficult for local authorities and health trusts to work together on joined up government initiatives.

20/11/2001Digital divide favours better off
Better off children with access to computers at home are more likely to use them at school with confidence and gain educational benefit from the Web.

19/11/2001Opening up access to public information
The first tangible benefits of the Freedom of Information Act will be delivered by local government in February 2003.

19/11/2001Welsh assembly leads IT infrastructure investment
Local government and businesses in Wales are set to benefit from a range of new investments in new communication technology which aim to build up the Welsh economy.

08/11/2001Net craze on the wane?
Growth in the number of UK homes connecting to the Internet has stopped for the first time, according to the latest quarterly figures from OFTEL.

19/10/2001Global e-government survey places UK at No.5
The UK ranks number five in the world league table of e-government according to the results of the first annual survey of government websites.

15/10/2001Government seeks electronic pathfinders
Councils across England are being invited to become e-government pathfinders and trial new ways of working with the public, private and voluntary sectors

09/10/20012005 e-agenda not cast in stone
Local government should concentrate on getting the big systems on line and not concentrate on achieving the 100 percent of services target by the Government's 2005 deadline.

04/10/2001E-government will fail to reach every household
A row is brewing about how e-government services can be delivered to every household in the UK.

03/10/2001Tony Blair calls for technology to revolutionise local communities
The prime minister called for the public sector to harness the potential of technology to deliver better services and revitalise democracy within communities.

01/10/2001Take action now to meet e-targets
2005 targets ambitious, says EURIM, as it publishes briefing papers for e-success

26/9/2001Not all councils on target to deliver online services
Nearly one in three councils will have to do more work to satisfy the Government that they are making progress in putting services online and are at risk losing future funding.

20/9/2001ID cards would not make councils into many big brothers
Terrorist action in the US once again opens the debate about national identity cards, heralding for many a vision of big brother style government.

24/7/2001Electronic procurement offers massive savings
Local government could benefit from massive savings made by central government by the adoption of electronic procurement systems.

19/7/2001Local authorities fail to meet e-deadlines
Local councils are already in danger of missing the Government deadline of having 25 percent of services on-line by 31 July 2002, researchers warn.

11/7/2001More than seven in ten worry about data privacy
Nearly three-quarters of all adults in Great Britain are concerned about the amount of personal details being stored electronically by companies and organisations, says the Information Commissioner in her annual report.

05/7/2001Computers to tackle social exclusion
The crucial role that access to computers plays in local governments' fight against social exclusion has been recognised.

05/7/2001E-Government is about people not technology
E-government and the drive to get council services delivered online is not about technology but is a way of shaping and sustaining local communities, according to a new report published by SOLACE.

02/7/2001Scotland sets out need for e-government
The importance of modernising public services in Scotland, and the vital role of local authorities in that process, was highlighted in a speech by deputy minister for finance and local government, Peter Peacock.

28/6/2001Electronic council pathfinders point the way
Details of local authority pathfinder projects aimed at making the most of new technologies to deliver better quality and more accessible services to people have been unveiled.

30/4/2001Local government IT fails quantity test
Local authority managers and members are all, almost without exception, failing to grasp the benefits of the e-revolution.

30/4/2001Government fails to turn people on-line
The Government's plans to put public services on-line have been dismissed as unrealistic by an all-party Commons Select Committee.

30/4/2001EU must harness benefits of e-government and not create social exclusion
The European Commission warns governments to work together or risk losing the benefits of e-government.


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