£5m push to boost online services

The government is spending £5m to persuade the public to use the electronic services which local authorities have spent billions putting in place.

The 'Lose the Queues' campaign - to start early next year - is designed to support the efforts of local authorities by highlighting the benefits of accessing council services online, such as flexibility and convenience.

The government claims the UK is leading the EU in terms of the sophistication of public authority e-services for the citizen - but that it is currently below average in terms of take-up.

There is evidence that current usage of council e-channels still lags behind public interest in using them, with around half of the adult population of England saying they are interested in using online services.

Local e-government minister Jim Fitzpatrick said in a statement: "Our future plans are dependent upon winning citizens around to the benefits of using e-services.

"We are delighted with the achievements of the Local e-Government Programme to date and the efforts of councils in putting services online. This has built a platform for the next phase of transforming service delivery."