30 June 2006

Governments throughout Europe are using "more mature" online services, which are making public services "better, more efficient and effective".

Public services available over the Internet have now reached a level of "sophistication" throughout the EU, where improvements in usability now allow a full two-way interaction between citizens and authorities.

Almost 50 per cent of services now allow the government to conduct the entire operation online, which in turn leads to a far more efficient system, according to an eGovernment survey of the European Commission.

Furthermore the "considerable" efforts made by all European countries have been recognised by a rise in the sophistication index.

At the beginning of the century, Internet services and digital accessibility for citizens were highlighted as key areas for improvement and evolution of public service and these are now mostly in place, eGovernment states.

The next stage will be "intelligent, user-orientated e-services", which will continue to increase the level of service provided.

In the UK, recruitment of nurses on the Internet could save the NHS around £80 million a year, while enabling the service to provide a good level of staff to the right places, the organisation claims.

© Adfero Ltd

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