29 April 2008
Government websites have only improved slightly in quality in the past six years according to a new report.
One-third of official sites do not meet the Cabinet Office's own standards for web accessibility to disabled users said the report by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee.
An estimated £208 million a year is spent on delivering public services and information online. A quarter of Government agencies cannot provide data on the cost of their websites.
The committee welcomed plans to cull almost 1,000 official sites over the next three years and concentrate activity on the direct.gov.uk and businesslink.gov.uk.
The PAC warned in 2002 that the Government was not making enough progress in making its services accessible online, and its follow-up report found that there are still shortcomings in the state's use of the Internet.
The committee said:
Generally, the public consider Government websites to be satisfactory and some, such as the Transport for London website, are well-regarded……Overall, however, the quality of Government websites has improved only slightly since 2002.
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