Press release

e-Government – if we build it, will they come?
 

• 98% of UK Local Government organisations claim they will overcome time and budget challenges to reach 2005 e-Government targets
• But only 12% of UK population are aware of e-Government drive
• Security fears could dampen success of the electronic revolution
• Fragmented approach suggests ‘postcode lottery’ of service availability

13 October 2004 –The UK’s e-Government drive looks set to hit 2005 targets, say new research findings from ntl, a leading provider of communications services to the Public Sector. The study, conducted in parallel among UK Local Government organisations and a sample of citizens, highlighted significant progress in the roll-out of e-Government, but also uncovered lack of awareness among the general public and a fragmented approach to this ambitious transformation of the delivery of Public Services.

98% of Local Government organisations claim to be on track to meet the 2005 targets set by Central Government. Yet, hampered by time and budget restrictions, stress levels are up for nearly half of those surveyed. Furthermore, for the quarter of authorities not yet at implementation stage the clock is really ticking.

Disappointingly, for those that do hit the deadline, it is unlikely to be to popular acclaim. The Public Sector believes that 40% of Internet-users are aware of electronic services, yet the ntl research revealed that only 12% of the UK’s Internet-savvy population are aware of the drive for
e-Government and only 8% use services regularly at present.

More encouragingly, over two thirds of citizens are keen to pay taxes or fines online, log-on to vote or access entertainment/information services over the Internet. And, with 85% keen to access services outside of office hours, it looks like e-Government could be a winner – once the UK knows it is there.

Lucy Brown, Director or Sector Marketing in ntl’s business division, said: “e-Government has proved an enormous challenge for the Public Sector, from the commercial question of funding and the technical problems of implementation through to the social issue of bridging the digital divide. With 98% of organisations on track to meet the 2005 deadline the future for e-Government looks promising. There is still much to be done however and for the initial groundwork to deliver long-term and widespread benefits, a comprehensive education programme is required.”

Lack of awareness isn’t the only obstacle. Security is a major concern for UK citizens looking to interact electronically with their local authority. Two thirds worry about data protection issues such as where records would be stored and who might have access to them and a third expressed reservations about security of online transactions. More encouragingly, these fears are recognised by the Public Sector and are being addressed – with security cited as the number one priority for e-Government investment both now and beyond 2005.

The research findings also unveil a fragmented approach to e-Gov services and the possibility of a ‘postcode lottery’ for citizens. Organisations aren’t maximising their investment in new technology and only half of those surveyed have used an aggregated approach to specification and spending. Of those that have embarked on ‘joined up’ funding, so far only 4% have used the ADITs (formerly know as Regional Aggregation Boards), although 57% plan to work with one in the next three years.

And despite Central Government’s emphasis on improving joined up working with other public sector organisations such as health and education, this is viewed by Local Authorities as of secondary importance to putting services online and enabling electronic interaction with citizens. In contrast, 73% of the public would encourage this approach.

Investment to support home working for employees and mobility for key staff such as social workers was rated an even lower priority than the additional bandwidth needed to enable joined up working with partners.

ntl’s research suggests that the Government’s multi-media ambitions have been quashed. Provision of services via interactive TV and mobile channels are viewed as the least important applications to the roll-out of e-Government, behind upgrading internal network infrastructure, establishing community Internet portals and delivering external call centre services. Roll-out of public access kiosks also rated low on the list of priorities, suggesting lack of Internet access in the wider community could be an issue.