UK Government plans online shop

Benefits could more conveniently be distributed online

The UK Government is to offer a one-stop shop on the internet for all the services it offers citizens.

In future buying a TV licence, paying your income tax or applying for a passport could all be done from one central website, reports the specialist newsletter eGov Monitor.

The government is aiming to put all its service online by 2005 and having one central site could encourage more people to interact electronically with officials.

Currently only around 11% of citizens use e-services and the government's flagship website UK Online, which puts people in touch with relevant departments, has around 300,000 visitors each month.

Joined-up services

The Online Government Store could attract more people.

"If you are a student, elderly person, a traveller or motorist, you can come into electronic space and there is something that says 'All the services we offer you, irrespective of the department that they are offered by, can be found in that space,'" said Andrew Turnbull, the Cabinet Secretary, describing the project earlier in the year.

"Lately the government has realised that as well as putting services online, it needs to make sure that they are used by citizens

Ian Cuddy, e-Gov Monitor editor

The e-Envoy's Office, which will be co-ordinating the project, was unable to give further details at this stage although a spokesman explained the thinking behind the idea.

"UK Online has been deliberately designed to get citizens in and out as quickly as possible, to direct them to, say, information about tax credits," said the spokesman.

"But some citizens might also be interested in child benefit and at the moment there is no way of linking between departments," he added.

Joined-up services are high on the agenda of the government's e-strategy, although plans to introduce a national ID card with a database of information on each citizen have been fiercely resisted.

More confusion?

Some commentators have questioned whether having a variety of government portals will actually help or confuse citizens.

"It isn't clear yet what will happen to the government's UK Online citizen portal, which is intended to provide a single route into government," commented e-Gov Monitor editor Ian Cuddy.

"It would make sense to merge the two projects into one, rather than have two competing portals, vying for the same audience, which would only to serve to create confusion as well as unnecessary expense," he added.

But the idea of a one-stop shop shows that the government is listening to its critics.

"Lately the government has realised that as well as putting services online, it needs to make sure that they are used by citizens.

"At the moment these e-services are scattered across hundreds of various government websites and portals. A single point of access, such as the Online Government Store, would help to make them more accessible and convenient," said Mr Cuddy.