A Socitm survey of local authority Web sites found delays in
replies to enquiries and a lack of information
With price wars raging among Internet providers and the
Government urging local authorities to do more business online,
what is the state of local authority Web site provision, asks
Mike Simons.
The Society of Information Technology Management (Socitm) has
just published a report, Better Connected? A year 2000 snapshot of
local authority Web sites, and it makes uncomfortable reading.
The survey looked at 420 local authority Web sites across the
country over a period of 10 weeks. Of the 467 local authorities,
400 have Web sites. This represents a growth of 12% in the past
year. Socitm classified these sites into four categories:
Of the surveyed sites, 77 sites had moved up at least one
category in the year since Socitm last carried out its Web site
survey, however, there is a long way to go before even the best
offer citizens a full range of information and services online.
A key part of the survey was the ability of Web sites to answer
questions citizens might need to ask in specific circumstances. The
report found that, "Most local authority Web sites fall well short
of being able to meet this assessment."
Half the councils did not reply to an e-mail asking about
disabled access to libraries and swimming pools. Only one-in-six
replied within 24 hours and one took 21 days to reply.
Socitm's testers also tried to find the sort of information a
single parent living in council property might need, asking
questions about housing benefit, the address of the nearest
Citizens' Advice Bureau and JobCentre. About 30% of councils could
not handle the enquiry and only 8% were satisfactory or better.
Testers also posed as a multinational business looking for a new
site. Of the councils 17% ignored this service and 36% did it
satisfactorily or very well.
Socitm warned local authorities they must "grasp the
opportunities of electronic service delivery. The reason for this
is not that Government policy requires it, but that the general
public's expectations are increasing because the technology is
driving organisations everywhere towards e-commerce."
Key recommendations
Local authority Web sites must:
- Include a full set of contact information across the
site
- Include links to all other levels of Government
- Move positively to more interactive transactions, but ensure
they are adequately supported
- Consider a range of requirements for disabled people
- Better Connected?, published by the Society of Information
Technology Management. socitm.gov.uk
- Know of any innovative public sector project? If so e-mail
Mike
Simons