The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, led by John
Prescott, has spelt out a set of "priority outcomes" for local
authorities to help them meet Tony Blair’s 2005 e-government
targets.
The Improvement and Development Agency has laid down what
councils must do to receive e-government funding from Whitehall.
Earlier advice, the ODPM admitted, was "unclear" and vaguely
written.
Adrian Hancock, policy support officer at local authority IT
directors’ organisation Socitm, welcomed the guidance but expressed
frustration that it had been delivered so close to the 2005
deadlines.
"We wish the ODPM had commissioned such a project 12 or 18
months ago, giving our members a more realistic timescale in which
to achieve the very demanding outcomes," he said.
The new publication outlines 14 outcomes in areas such as
education, democratic renewal and community information, and
provides brief outlines of what is needed to achieve them.
"We do feel that the guidance brings some much needed clarity to
the priority services and offers some very useful pointers
regarding responsibility for specific outcomes," said Hancock.
He pointed out the ODPM was recommending that ownership of many
e-government projects should not lie with the IT department but
with those in charge of the services being modernised.