E-Government Initiative Fails To Take Off

The Government is failing in its attempt to transfer all of its services online by 2005, according to a report by public spending body, the National Audit Office (NAO).

An investigation by the NAO has found that just over half of the Government’s 524 services are currently available online. However, most only provide basic information, with just 3% offering additional facilities.

Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, warned Parliament today that it runs the risk of wasting large amounts of tax payer’s money if its online services fail to take-off. He called for the Government to promote its e-government initiative more aggressively and said that more needs to be done to convince members of the public to go online to apply for things like passports and driver’s licences.

Bourn said: “A significant amount of tax payers’ money is being spent on delivering public services through electronic means, but there is still much to do to realise the full potential from using internet technology.”

NAO: 020 7798 7000 www.nao.gov.uk

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