§ Mr. MillerTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will set out the allocations he intends to make available next year under the local government Online project. [23876]
§ Mr. RaynsfordWe have recently published the Local Government White Paper "Strong Local Leadership—Quality Public Services" setting out our vision for a stronger local government and improved public services. E-government is essential to that vision and many councils are seizing this opportunity to transform the way they deliver services and engage their communities.
To this end the Government have committed £350 million over three years to support putting local government online. So far, £25 million has been allocated to 24 pathfinder projects (with a further pathfinder being funded under the Invest to Save Budget) to develop new approaches which can be shared with the wider government community.
We expect all councils to rise to this challenge, and deliver e-enabled services by 2005. To help them achieve this the Government intend, subject to the agreement of Parliament, to provide a capital grant of £200,000 each to 398 local authorities in 2002–03 to support proposals contained in their Implementing Electronic Government (IEG). Subject to demonstrating that they have made good progress, and have used the first tranche of money to good effect, we also intend them to receive a further £200,000 each in 2003–04. We will accordingly lay a Special Grant report before the House setting out this intention, in the near future.
We have also made provision for financial support to facilitate partnerships both between local authorities, and between local authorities and other public bodies, as well as for further national projects available for use by all local authorities.
We shall be writing to leading potential partnerships between councils and with other public services seeking further evidence of how their partnership will contribute to delivering joined up, e-enabled services.
We have struck a balance between resources for individual councils to help them meet local priorities, support for partnerships, pathfinders and other national projects which provide the essential building blocks for every council to use.
The draft national local government Online strategy to be published early in the new year will set out how we will continue to support pathfinders, and seek views on new national products which can help all councils move quickly and cost effectively toward the standards of e-enabled service offered by the best. We will announce detailed plans for the remainder of the funding in the new year alongside the publication of this strategy.