By Andy McCue, 16 February 2004 15:50
NEWS Plans to squeeze efficiency gains of up to £15bn out of the workings of government could see people forced to use e-government services, and an overhaul in the way departments and local authorities use and buy IT.
The details of the government's efficiency review, which is being overseen by Peter Gershon, the head of the Office of Government Commerce, were conveniently 'leaked' to the Financial Times today at the same time as the Conservative Party unveiled its plans for tax cuts and reigning in public spending.
The review says e-government has so far failed to deliver any significant returns on the £8bn invested but highlights it as a key area for potential savings in the future.
One such way would be to make it compulsory for those who are 'e-capable' to transact online with the government for functions such as tax returns. Up to 60 per cent of current call centre inquiries could also be handled by automated systems, the report says.
IT functions could also be brought across government departments with common interests; and thousands of junior civil service jobs would be lost as the focus switched to more specialised and skilled senior positions.
The government's buying power could be exploited by the creation of a few buying agencies for central departments and local authorities responsible for the £120bn annual public sector spend.
IT companies including Hewlett Packard and IBM have been consulted on the proposals, according to the FT.
Savings would be redirected to the frontline of the public sector and the report also highlights the use of handheld computers as a way to deliver tangible time savings for doctors and the police.
If implemented, the government-wide reforms would represent the biggest shake-up of the public sector in more than 20 years. But Philip Virgo, secretary-general of the all-party Parliamentary lobby group the European Information Society Group (EURIM), said that would depend on the "political will" to do this.
He also said that forcing people to use e-government services, some of which aren't yet "fit for purpose", is not the way to go about it.
"If the systems are workable and usable, you won't need much compulsion from the working middle classes," he told silicon.com. "An awful lot of these systems, with regard to trying to communicate with the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise, need to be sorted out."
Glyn Evans, head of the information age unit at local government user group the Society of IT Managers (Socitm), said bulk purchasing arrangements will remove choice and reduce competition from smaller IT suppliers.
"It doesn't strike me as being very customer-focused," he said. "I'm not saying there will be no savings but the cost is a loss of local flexibility. I also wonder whether it would get rid of the possibility of new players coming into the market because they aren't large enough to be bidding for a quarter of the government business."
Comments
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1. Eddie Bleasdale
We would love to use be 'forced to us e-government services' However we will require the UK Government use agreed vendor neutral open standards and not rely on the products of a proprietary software supplier.
2. Anthony
Great... we tax payers get to give even more of our money to US co's to develop our government systems!
If they [the government] are going to insist on massive secure e-systems then how about opening up the tendering system to allow cheaper solutions to get in there... after all, government is getting bled by EDS, IBM, Sema etc at 800+ a day consultant rates while they [the co's] use agency contractors to do the work and pay them 200-250 a day! Not my idea of an open market...
3. A Reading
In 1978-80 I was in charge of a team which maintained the Supplies Equipment Guide. This listed centrally negociated contracts for engineering equipment used by Property Services Agency staff to call off items required to create and maintain services to MOD units and government establishments. Now that PSA is no more I see that the Government is getting round to the realisation that such a service is a money saver.
4. anonymous
I have several times told the vat office that I would be willing to file my VAT return on line if they then collected the vat by direct debit. However as they make me pay by BACS or cheque, I see no point in spending MY time connecting to there web site, filling in a paper form is quicker. Also way is there such a complex log on process for doing VAT returns? Why not just send me a “one time” password with may vat form – and a print out of my last return so I can check it go into the system.
I tried to do my income tax form on line last year; however they expected me to remember my password from the year before that I was not allowed to right down. It was quicker to print out and post my return, then to get a new password. Why not sent a “one time” password with my “notice to file”?
A notional id card system that provided a safe hardware based identification system for when I am using web site would solve a lot of these problem, but is years away.