The success of the Transformational Government (TG) strategy will depend on delivering quality public services to the socially excluded, many of whom may not be able to use a computer, according to MPs.

The TG plan aims to improve public services in the UK by improving information sharing between government departments and offering more services online.

But a new report by lobby group Eurim and a group of MPs says that a pragmatic approach would be to serve about 80 per cent of service users adequately through a simpler online system, and devise a different set of systems – including face-to-face contact – for those unable or unwilling to use technology.

A spate of data breaches has also undermined the public's trust in government handling of personal information – the report says service providers will have to work hard to restore staff and public faith in the benefits of the programme.

The experts also found that some services would be best delivered by third-party organisations.

"In particular, external delivery may not only introduce innovation and efficiencies, but may also reach more people because their independence from government may address any perceived conflicts of interest in personal information," says the report.

There are benefits in "sous-veillance" – the public carefully monitoring service delivery performance and posting evidence of that performance online – but responses must be constructive and not knee-jerk, said the MPs.

A recent Cabinet Office report on Transformational Government highlighted success stories such as the number of people renewing their car tax online which has now passed the 10 million mark, while uptake of filing tax returns online increased 30 per cent last year.

And a project to streamline government information on web sites has seen 712 extraneous sites marked for closure as the information is moved to central services such as Directgov.