Government web sites are out of control

As many as a thousand unnecessary sites could be axed

A quarter of government departments have no idea how much their web sites cost

MPs have accused the government of letting enthusiasm for web-based services run out of control.

The Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the number of government sites has soared to more than 2000 at an annual cost of more than £200m and called for the Cabinet Office to be granted a veto over new sites.

A migration of services to Direct.gov.uk and Businesslink.gov.uk under the management of the Department of Work and Pensions is already planned.

The National Audit Office had previously warned that a quarter of government departments have no idea how much their web sites cost and 16 per cent have no data on how they are used.

"Overall, the quality of web sites has improved only slightly since 2002 and a third do not meet the Cabinet Office's own user accessibility standards,” said PAC chairman Edward Leigh.

A thousand unnecessary sites face deletion.

"The government's enthusiastic embrace of this new world of web-delivered services is not matched by a commensurate level of understanding of what it is achieving through its web sites, how effective they are or whether they represent value for money," said Leigh.

The PAC report also warned of the danger of the digital divide adding to social exclusion among those on low incomes, the elderly and the disabled.