Availability and awareness holding back eGov
The government needs to address accessibility and awareness issues if its 2005 eGovernment targets are to be met, says a new KPMG Consulting report.
The UK public’s appetite for e-government is growing, but the vast majority of taxpayers would still prefer to use the telephone or face-to-face channels in their dealings with public services, a new survey has revealed.
KPMG Consulting’s third annual e-government survey found that government targets for online delivery of public services are well on the way to being met with two out of three citizens wanting access to public services online.
But with almost a third of the 2028 respondents reluctant to use any e-services, the report warns that a multi-channel approach that caters for both online enthusiasts and those without access to the internet is essential.
It also warns that public awareness of online service offerings is poor. An online facility for paying TV licences was launched a year ago and so far only five per cent of the population have used it and two in five were unaware of the service.
‘There are a large number of people who don’t see the internet as the way they want to access public services – and they’re the ones that tend to be big users of public services,’ said David Gardner, principal consultant at KPMG Consulting.