In his first major speech on e-government for two years, prime
minister Tony Blair reaffirmed the government's £6bn investment
plan for public sector IT, but admitted there was a long way to
go.
Speaking at the government's E-Summit in London on Tuesday, Blair
said too many of the UK's public services "live in the
technological dark ages". He talked of "too few teachers with their
own e-mail, the NHS without a single electronic network, and no two
parts of the criminal justice system operating with the same
computer packages".
After his speech a Downing Street official confirmed that the £6bn,
which was announced in this year's spending review, would be
earmarked for IT projects.
Ring-fencing of IT investment has been a long standing source of
tension in areas such as the NHS, where IT funds have often been
diverted to deal with short-term clinical pressures.
Some £1bn of the £6bn available will be invested in networking the
UK's public services, with Blair promising to link every school to
broadband by 2006.
The overall broadband strategy will also encompass GP surgeries,
hospitals, and Primary Care Trusts, as well as the criminal justice
system and the Department for Work and Pensions.
Blair also highlighted the government's investment in NHS IT. "In
the NHS we will be investing to create a national integrated care
records service, an electronic prescription service, an electronic
appointment booking service."
Other areas identified by the prime minster included services to
enable drivers to conduct all their dealings with government online
and the Transport Direct travel information service.
Blair said, "Transport Direct will provide travel information
linking trains, buses and taxi connections to improve public
transport as an integrated system."
The prime minster also used the conference to announce that the
government had already met its target of opening 6,000 UK online
centres by the end of 2002.
He said, "at least 126,000 new users have already come through the
doors - a quarter of them unemployed or on benefits."
E-government must warm up to conquer public apathy
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