UK edging up e-government rankings, says Capgemini
Offering more sophisticated services than a year ago
By Computerworld UK reporter | Computerworld UK | Published: 10:52, 21 September 2007
The UK has ranked fifth in an annual European survey of online services by consultancy Capgemini – up one place from sixth last time around.
The annual survey, conducted for the European Commission, found that 89 percent of basic public services in the UK are now fully available online, which Capgemini said was a "marked" improvement on the previous year.
In a measure of online sophistication, the UK scored 90 percent. This level suggests that the government is now offering more intuititve, targeted services rather than purely transactional ones.
"European governments must stop a gap opening up between the public and the commercial online worlds, and seek to deliver a new 'Gov 2.0' experience," said Graham Colclough, vice president of the global public sector for Capgemini. He said the online offering should attract and fulfil citizen needs "efficiently, consistently, inclusively, and economically."
The UK also scored highly for its online services for libraries, job searching, education enrolment, building permission and healthcare.
Across 30 EU and nearby countries, the report said online availability for public services had increased from 50 percent last year to 58 percent this year. Austria came out as the top country, with perfect scores for all the 20 services measured.
