Mike SimonsLocal authority IT managers have been excluded from policy
development for the Cabinet Office's Information Age Government
(IAG) strategic framework.
The Society of Information Technology Management (Socitm) had
minimal input into the Government's consultation document,
"E-citizen, e-business, e-government".
Socitm spokesman John Serle told Computer Weekly, "The
Government is setting objectives, but there is a danger of it
forgetting to get practitioners on board. It must talk to the
people who are going to deliver the mechanisms for electronic
government."
Annexes to the document show the policy for local government was
drawn up by the Cabinet Office IT Unit (CITU), Department of
Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Improve-ment and
Development Agency and the Local Government Association.
Socitm's official reply to the e-government document welcomed
the call for local authorities to adopt specific e-government
targets and link them into the Best Value framework.
However, it said, "We are disappointed that the implementation
frameworkÉ provides no role for those professionally involved in
the implementation of IAG.
"Socitm has been the leading provider of IAG guidance to local
government and its membership, drawn from both serving officers and
IAG practitioners in the private sector, represents the majority of
those advising local authorities in this area."
Tim Dawes, manager of Socitm's IA Programme, called for further
discussions to be held.
between CITU and all interested representative bodies to try to
agree a more widely acceptable approach.