Government services to move more online, advises report

A report produced for Government claimed the move £2.2 billion if half of the public's contacts with the Government took place online, and that £1.3bn could be saved if 30% of contact was on the internet.

Martha Lane Fox, co-founder of online travel agent turned retailer Lastminute.com, produced the report for the Government outlining how it could reduce administration bills by moving services online.

"There has been a reinvention of the Internet and the behaviour of users in the last few years," said Lane Fox in the report. "Digital services are now more agile, open and cheaper. To take advantage of these changes, government needs to move to a ‘service culture’, putting the needs of citizens ahead of those of departments."

"This increase in focus on end users should include opening up government transactions so they can be easily delivered by commercial organisations and charities, and putting information wherever people are on the web by syndicating content," she said.

Lane Fox said that the DirectGov website should be "the front end for all departments' transactional online services".

The Government should open up the back end of its digital services, making application programming interfaces (APIs) available to people who want to use Government data and services as part of their own services.

"For years, businesses have been using digital communications to improve services and engagement with their consumers," said Lane Fox. "Government should take advantage of the more open, agile and cheaper digital technologies to deliver simpler and more effective digital services to users, particularly to disadvantaged groups who are some of the heaviest users of government services.

"My report outlines specific measures to improve the amount and quality of transactional services the Government provides," she said. "But this is just the beginning: the Government must look at more dramatic measures – such as syndicating and opening up information and services to other organisations – to be able to offer genuine improvements to consumers, taxpayers, business and citizens in the UK.”

Lane Fox said that the Government should recruit an Executive Director for Digital and Information in the Cabinet Office to "drive change and bring together existing teams working in this area".

DirectGov chief executive Jayne Nickalls resigned last week. Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude said in his reply to Lane Fox, which carries Monday's date, that he had already asked his staff to recruit someone for the Executive Director post that Lane Fox had recommended.

Maude also said he accepted Lane Fox's recommendation that DirectGov become the "consumer champion with teeth to improve the user experience of digital public services".

"We will use digital technology to drive better services and lower costs," said Maude. "At present we inherited contracts that effectively limit the number of people who can use some online services. And for most benefits it is simply not possible to apply online. This is inconvenient, expensive, wasteful and ridiculous and it can not continue."

Maude said, though, that the Government would make sure that services were still available to those who did not use the internet.

"This does not mean we will abandon groups that are less likely to access the internet: we recognise that we cannot leave anyone behind. Every single Government service must be available to everyone – no matter if they are online or not," he said.