§ Mr. BaileyTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment she has made of departmental e-business strategies. [156545]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyAll main central Government Departments have now produced initial e-business strategies, as required by the e-government strategic framework I published last year. The strategies are published on the web, and links to them can be found at www e-envoy.go v.uk/estrats.htm.
The strategies represent an important step towards achieving the Government's target that all services should be available online by 2005. They demonstrate the increasing importance of e-government in transforming the quality of services offered to individuals and to businesses.
782WThe Government's objective, though, is to do more than put individual services online, important though that is. It is to transform the delivery of Government services, so that they are based on customer needs rather than the structures of government. The departmental e-business strategies represent the first step towards that larger goal, but require further development if that wider objective is to be met.
Building on the foundation provided by the initial versions, Departments will therefore develop their strategies to address the major challenges of e-government: working across organisational boundaries to deliver joined-up services; transforming the internal efficiency of government by organising to meet consumer needs not producer preferences; putting e-government at the heart of strategic planning; and developing new partnerships in service delivery.
I am today publishing a note which explains the strategy process in more detail on the e-Envoy's website. Copies will also be placed in the Library.