Former BBC staffer appointed to pilot a single government web domain

Tom Loosemore charged with taking government web site rationalisation 'to its logical conclusion'

Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude has appointed ex-BBC web developer Tom Loosemore to create a prototype for a single government web domain.

The prototype will be created using an agile development approach, and is seen as taking the web site rationalisation that is already taking place within government to its logical conclusion.

Digital champion Martha Lane Fox prompted this development by recommending the idea to government in a report 'Directgov 2010 and Beyond'.

A small team has been formed to create the prototype and it aims to demonstrate how a single domain might look and operate.

In a blog post on the Cabinet Office web site, the brief includes a requirement to deliver "a working model of a new and fundamentally user-focused approach to government digital and to do so using an agile, multi-disciplinary approach".

Loosemore will be working alongside the current head of digital at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Jimmy Leach.

"For too long, government has wasted vast amounts of money on ineffective and duplicate IT systems," said Maude.

"We will cut out duplication and wastage by sharing more of our assets across government and using common systems."