19 December 2005

Only one in five local authorities have reached mandatory e-government standards ahead of the 2005 deadline, reveals a new report.

The study suggests that the vision of a joined up e-government system linking local authorities across the UK will not be fully realised in the near future.

"In simple terms, public sector organisations all need to be working to the mandatory standards of classification, otherwise it will be either very laborious or practically impossible for the enquiring citizens to get a rapid, accurate and comprehensive answer to their query," states the report from APR Smartlogik.

It says that unless online services are up to scratch, members of the public will resort to the telephone or enquire in person at the local council.

This means that administrative costs will not be reduced and the proposed economic benefits of e-government developments will be lost.

The research did find that 80 per cent of councils were complying with at least some of the e-government requirements as set out by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

© Adfero Ltd

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