E-government 'bullies' under fire from local councils

Local authorities have reacted angrily to the government's latest e-government directives - just one day before Labour is due to showcase the success of the initiative.

Local councils have until tomorrow to submit their Implementing Electronic Government (IEG) statements to the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR).

Those statements must include detailed planning of the roll out of electronic services up to the government's target of 2005, along with the costings and potential savings of the project.

Ministers postponed the deadline last year after a number of authorities failed to complete the task.

But the burden placed upon the councils has caused considerable resentment.

Bob Austin, director of central services at Cotswold District Council, said the government is asking too much. "It's a challenge for a relatively small council like ours," he told silicon.com. "We've got four years, and that's an awfully long time in the technology market."

Tamsin Fulton, web manager at the London Borough of Hackney, said putting together the statement had been fraught. "It's been quite difficult," she said. "Personally I don't think much of the structure, it's quite confusing and we've ended up repeating ourselves."

Central government is strongly encouraging local authorities to meet the 2005 deadline for online services, but unlike central departments, the target is recommended rather than enforced.

The Local Futures Group, a think-tank favoured by the government, has been tracking the progress of regional e-government. According to research director Kate Oakley, the level of micro-management by civil servants in London has caused problems.

"E-government is just one more thing being driven from Whitehall. It's another thing local councils are being told to do without being able to formulate policy and direction themselves," Oakley said.

The response tomorrow is expected to be much higher than the abortive attempt last year, with most local councils addressing the theory - even if practice remains shaky.

According to the Local Futures Group, e-government is much higher up the regional political agenda. Oakley said: "There are some leading lights, lots in the middle doing OK and a few laggards."

After the high-profile failure of its computerised benefit system, Hackney Borough Council will be taking a cautious approach towards rolling out electronic services. "It's about thinking big but starting small," Fulton said. "And I'm fairly confident we can hit the 2005 target."