Local authority IT directors are to be assisted in their battle to
make sense of the government's Best Value directives.
Since its publication in January 2001, local government has
struggled to interpret the BVPI 157 directive, which is now seen as
one of the major barriers in the struggle to meet Tony Blair's
e-targets.
Steve Palmer, IT head at Hillingdon LBC, said, "There are some
small hurdles to overcome in order to hit e-government targets but
the confusion over BVPI 157 stands out as a real barrier. Socitm
[The Society of IT Management] is working hard to help local
authorities tackle the problem but there are still clarification
difficulties."
Socitm has this week launched a Web site to help worried local
authorities pick their way through the minefield of seemingly
contradictory central government demands.
A Socitm spokesman said, "We hope this Web site will develop into
an interactive repository of good practice, which will be of
practical assistance to local authorities."
The creation of the new site comes hot on the heels of a BVPI 157
guidance publication launched last week.
The publication was a joint effort between Socitm's Best Value
Group; the government's Improvement and Development Agency; the
Local Government Association and the Department of the Environment,
Transport and Regions.
It aimed to provide clarification to local authorities confused by
BVPI 157's definitions of "electronic services" and the number of
interaction types that needed to be measured and tracked.
The document suggests reducing the number of interaction types to
six generic items. These capture the core functions of a local
authority's interaction with citizens.
However, any such changes must be discussed officially as part of
the Best Value review process and, even if they are adopted, they
will not be effective until next year.
The six items are:
- Information provision (such as public transport)
Making applications (such as planning consent)
Booking a service (such as a squash court)
Payments in (such as council tax)
Payments out (such as benefits)
Feedback (such as complaints)
The BVPI 157 confusion has put additional pressures on local
authorities that are already concerned with the stiff challenge of
delivering full electronic service by 2005 despite funding and
staffing difficulties.
John Serle, chairman of the Socitm Best Value Group, said, "The
previous guidance created complexity in the minds of those in local
government. We have reduced this to six key items so that local
authorities can concentrate on delivering e-government. The new
guidance would also help them to see where they need to invest in
the future in order to meet targets."
Bruce Ackland