Whitehall websites must improve agree MPs using expert research into online government

MPs have published a new report on the management of government websites, which draws heavily on a report for the National Audit Office by researchers at the LSE Public Policy Group and the Oxford Internet Institute.

Government on the Internet: progress in delivering information and services published by the Public Accounts Committee calls for tighter cost control on government websites and a better understanding of how they are used.

Edward Leigh MP, chairman of the committee, said, "The internet is transforming the way in which government communicates with and provides services to citizens. But the government's enthusiastic embrace of this new world of web-delivered services is not matched by a commensurate level of understanding of what it is achieving through its websites, how effective they are or whether they represent value for money."

The MPs findings echo the conclusions of Government on the Internet: progress in delivering information services online, which looked at the progress made by government in delivering services and information online since the NAO last reported in 2002.

The researchers found that:

• Government web sites tend to be text heavy and complex to understand and to navigate;
• Many agencies have little information about how much online provision of services costs;
• Most departments lack sufficient information about who is using their sites and how they are being used.

The team was led by Professor Patrick Dunleavy of LSE and Professor Helen Margetts of the University of Oxford.

For the NAO report, go to www.nao.org.uk

 

30 April 2008

^ Back to top