Councils on "home straight" in e-government race

Councils are on the "home straight" of the race to get all their services e-enabled by the end of this year, the government has claimed.

Nearly all authorities allow library books to be renewed online and give the public access to public transport information, council reports and committee minutes on the web.

And in nearly 200 councils, citizens can now go online to submit planning applications or calculate their benefits entitlement, the government said.

Local e-government minister Jim Fitzpatrick said councils are turning into the home straight with their e-government programme.

"The December 2005 target is well within the reach of local authorities and reaffirms the huge potential for efficiency gains," he said in a statement.

Electronic enablement of council services has jumped from 26 per cent in March 2002 to 77 per cent in March 2005, "with e-government already making an essential contribution towards the government's efficiency targets", Fitzpatrick added.

July's Implementing Electronic Government returns show the average council was 77 per cent e-enabled by the end of March this year and expects to meet the December 2005 target. By the end of next month, councils forecast that 93 per cent of major projects will be at 'amber' or 'green' for implementation.

But in a recent poll of silicon.com readers, nearly three-quarters (71 per cent) said they had noticed no new interaction coming from their local authority. Only 21 per cent said they had seen changes in their council's online approach to the public.

The government estimates that e-government is contributing around £115m in efficiency gains this year and that this will rise to £277m in 2005-06, £307m in 2006-07 and £362m in 2007-08.