Politicians and civil servants buddy up with e-community

The UK government has set up a new system for transferring information between Parliament and Whitehall departments.

Peter Hain, the leader of the House of Commons, has launched a system for electronically transferring information between government departments and parliament.

In its first stage of development, the network will deliver parliamentary questions from the House of Commons to Whitehall and ministerial answers in the other direction.

It is hoped that the system, known as the electronic Parliamentary Community (ePC), will be extended to cover all information exchanged between government and parliament.

The ePC has been set up by the Knowledge Network team in the e-Government Unit along with parliamentary staff, Hain said in a written statement on 24 November 2004. The National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC) has also helped in setting up a secure connection between Westminster and Whitehall.

Along with the ePC, Hain also announced the next version of his office's Web site. It offers details on the government's forthcoming legislative programme and features and email alert service.