Cheat Sheet: E-government deadlines

E-government? Sounds like a clubber's dream come true...
Ha Ha. Electronic government is going to transform the way the public sector communicates with the average Joe on the street, or so Whitehall hopes.

What does that mean?
Basically it's a double whammy - cut costs in government administration and give people better and quicker access to information.

Oh really but how?
E-government has typically been interpreted as being public sector services on the internet. Fun things on offer include bill paying, tax filing and getting information on bin collections. You can even buy your fishing licence online. There are a whole range of services on offer.

Is it just government on the internet?
Not only the internet - punters can sign up for text messaging services to find out about local authority housing for example, or some councils can be emailed with details of abandoned cars. The list of services is likely to grow as time rolls on.

What do others say about it?
In the US, the White House defines e-government as "government initiatives helping local authorities provide planning services online and accessible via the internet and email".

Tony Blair defines it as "ensuring that IT supports the business transformation of government itself so that we can provide better, more efficient, public services".

So far so good but where does the deadline bit come in?
The rollout of e-government has been going on for the last couple of years. John Prescott's department (the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) has set a date of 15 December 2005 for councils to finish.

The government makes out that all local authorities will be 100 per cent "e-enabled" by then but quite what that means is anybody's guess.

Anything else I should know?
Yes – as mentioned, e-government is linked to a spending review on the public sector published by ex-CEO of the Office of Government Commerce, Sir Peter Gershon. He says councils should save £6.45bn through improved efficiency by 2008 but service quality must not falter.