A lack of trust is hampering take-up of online
government services, according to a recent BCS Thought Leadership
Debate. This is partially a result of several high-profile
e-government failures and because of a general lack of confidence
in government.
Transactions where government agencies handle personal data
require a greater level of trust, the debate heard. In e-service
transactions, the government has to be able to demonstrate
confidentiality, competence and integrity in handling a person's
data. IT leaders at the debate identified points on which members
of the public have to be able to trust e-services:
● The service is working correctly and efficiently
● The information is only being used for its intended
purpose
● Data is secure against hackers and malware.
Unfortunately, the government frequently fails in all of these
areas, the debate heard. This is often due to a reluctance to test
systems properly and a tendency to go for a big-bang
implementation, rather than rolling out services gradually.
In terms of usability, the government's e-services can have
basic design faults, such as misleading instructions, or no
helpline numbers. Poor usability is one reason that the public has
been put off e-services.
The government also offers few incentives to users. Online
services are neither easier, quicker, nor cheaper than manual
services. The debate heard that paying tax, for example, is no
cheaper or easier on the web-based system, whereas booking a
holiday online is.
Using e-services can make the public feel vulnerable. There is
no guarantee that the data will not be used for other purposes, and
the government offers no compensation. By comparison, when buying
goods online, purchasers know that they could receive
compensation.
With regard to data security, there have been examples where
government databases have been penetrated - for example, details of
staff at the Benefits Agency being used to commit benefit
fraud.
According to the BCS debate, if, for instance, ID card data were
to be held on a central database, somebody would eventually succeed
in hacking into it and replicating it.
The BCS needs to encourage the government to be more open to the
public, promote best practice and take a total quality approach to
information assurance. This may engender the increased levels of
trust that are needed, the debate heard.
Thought leadership
at the BCS >>