Labour MP calls for cabinet-level e-government supremo

Margaret Moran, MP for Luton South, was one of the guests on this week's Behind the Headlines programme, and was keen to stress Labour's achievements to date - but still wants a cabinet member to have responsibility for e-government.

Her comments came on the back of a proposal made by lobby group Eurim earlier in the week that the government appoint a cabinet level minister to oversee the e-government initiative.

Moran said: "If any government has ever grasped the agenda of e-government, it is this one. We even had complaints... that the pace of change was too fast. One of the problems is that we are not sufficiently joined up - that's why we need an e-cabinet minister."

Martin Brampton, operations director at Bloor Research, said that a cabinet-level appointment was not the best route, claiming that individual department heads need to take responsibility for their own IT failures, rather than having a cabinet scapegoat to pass the buck to.

He said: "Responsibility needs to be placed with key departments with sound resources backing them up."

But he did criticise the government, claiming that that prime minister Tony Blair lacked the political will to see the modernisation of government through.

Both Brampton and the other panellist on the programme, Richard Sykes, chairman of sourcing consultancy Morgan Chambers, believe another level of IT management at cabinet level would slow things down.

Sykes said: "I can't see yet another force within the cabinet being a beneficial thing."

But Moran countered this, saying: "You need champions in each department, but you also need somebody with the evangelical zeal to pull all that together."

You can see the full Behind the Headlines at http://www.silicon.com/a40460 .