§ 16. Mr. Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley)What action he is taking to ensure that all Government Departments are fully utilising the internet. [80307]
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Peter Kilfoyle)As we said in our White Paper "Modernising Government", we intend to use new technology to develop a civil service fit for the 21st century. That includes Departments using the internet to communicate by e-mail across Departments, and with the public and business; to provide electronically a whole range of Government information and services through Government websites and to carry out on-line transactions, such as completing interactive forms.
§ Mr. EvansI know that the Minister is keen on new technology and that he is personally keen to get into the 21st century. Will he tell the House which is the most popular departmental website and how many hits a day it receives?
§ Mr. KilfoyleI shall have to come back to the hon. Gentleman with that detailed information. He will appreciate that we are keen to enter the 21st century with the appropriate technology. As I said earlier, we have taken the first two most important steps, which are to begin to construct a Government-wide strategy for dealing with new technology, and to appoint someone in each Department at board level to drive through the implementation.