---

Cabinet Office

Answer

Mr. Ian Bruce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will make a statement on progress in introducing the electronic delivery of Government services. [133666] Mr. Ian McCartney: The Government continue to make strong progress towards the Prime Minister's target that by 2005 all government services should be available on-line. We have a good story to tell, for central Government we have identified 451 services to the citizen and to business and already one third of them are available on-line. Things you can do on-line now include: ordering and paying for a company's financial returns; checking to see if you need hospital treatment; find out if it is safe to visit foreign countries; fill out a tax form; the public can also keep up to date with what is happening in Parliament and contact the Ombudsman on-line; employees and employers can interactively calculate pay rates and entitlements under the national minimum wage regulations with further interactive guides to employment law to follow. A comparison with other countries also shows that we are doing well, as the recent international benchmarking study showed. For example, although currently the number of two-way dealings that can be done on-line is low, at about 20 (but rising) compared to other countries the figure is high, as is the volume and quality of the material available on the web.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

355 c524W; 133666

Session

1999-00

Question not reached

Yes

Subjects

Computer networks Government departments Internet Standards Electronic government

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk