One-stop-shop for government services

The first phase of government plans for a customer-focussed one-stop-shop for all online information and public services is due to go live this Spring.

The aim is to present services and information in the way the citizen wants to receive them, rather than in the way the government is structured to provide them.

By selecting categories such as 'single parent' or 'homeowner', users will be able to access everything they need regardless of which Whitehall department actually provides the service.

The scheme is a significant upgrade of the existing UK Online site, eEnvoy Andrew Pinder told Computing.

'At the moment the site acts like a travel agent, pointing users to other sites, rather than being a destination in itself,' he said.

The existing web site provides users with a series of signposts for where to find the information they need, but the new site will provide the information or services directly.

The first enhanced services, due to go live in February, will focus on single parents, motorists and people with disabilities.

The customer-oriented approach is sanctioned in the Phillis Review of government communications published this week.

'The current UK Online portal helps by providing navigation for the maze of government web sites, but this falls a long way short of providing a single site for all government services,' says the report.

'It is critical that the design of such a site be driven by the needs and perceptions of the users, and that individual departments are only "visible" when this makes sense to the users.'

Similar plans are also being piloted for the government's Business Link website.

'We will be making a substantial announcement later in the year,' secretary of state for trade and industry Patricia Hewitt told Computing.

'The aim is to make it easier for small businesses to get all the information they need in one place rather than getting routed off to lots of different sites,' she said.