UK rated third for e-gov in Europe

Monday, October 26, 2009

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has placed the UK third in Europe for its e-government services.

The report – Government at a Glance 2009 – found the UK was bettered only by Austria and Portugal in the sophistication of its e-services. In terms of e-government readiness, the UK was rated 10th out of all OECD countries, with Sweden at the top and the US fourth.

In both cases it scored 0.9 against a maximum of 1.0, based on the maturity of 12 citizen oriented and eight business oriented government services.

The UK's national portal – presumed to mean Directgov – was second only to the Netherland's national portal.

Unfortunately the UK's standing drops slightly when it comes to the take-up of e-government services. The report placed the UK 11th for the percentage of citizens using online services, with 32 per cent, and 20th for business with 64 per cent.

"As worlds become more interconnected, governments need to be agile to respond quickly in dynamic environments," the report concluded.