The UK public sector is leading the world in using technology
to deliver services to citizens, says Cabinet Office minister
Angela Smith.
Smith will suggest Britain leads the way at the fifth European
Ministerial E-Government Meeting in Malmo, Sweden.
"With a huge range of public services available online,
pioneering work taking place to free-up data and the world's first
plan to systematically cut the carbon emissions of government IT
systems, Britain is leading the way in e-government," said
Smith.
She listed some e-government achievements that have improved
public service delivery:
• More than 75% of driving licence applications are now made
online.
• £140bn of benefits payments are delivered electronically each
year.
• Hundreds of millions of x-rays, scans and other medical images
have been digitised.
• Twenty million people renew their car tax online each year
• The time it takes to apply for free school meals is being cut
from six weeks to four hours.
"We are using technology to make public services smarter,
cheaper and greener, allowing us to do more with less and design
services around the user, not the government," said Smith.