§ Virginia BottomleyTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he will next publish a report on the achievements and progress towards targets on accessibility of government services to disabled people. [177220]
§ Maria EagleI have been asked to reply.
Progress against the Public Service Agreement target relating to electronic service delivery by government departments is reported in the UK online annual report and quarterly updates are posted on the e-Government Unit website. The annual report for 2003 stated that two-thirds of all central government services are now available electronically and departments continue to make progress towards getting all services online by 2005. The quarterly update for Quarter 4 2003 shows that departments had e-enabled 71 per cent. of services to citizens and businesses.
Provision of online Government information for disabled people and unpaid carers has been greatly improved with the launch of Directgov in April 2004. The site meets World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) level A standard. Directgov presents information in a clear and structured way covering a range of areas such as rights, employment, independent living and health. The site offers links through to existing services—such as claiming carer's allowance online. As more government services become available, Directgov will expand to include them.