Background
Since the parallel announcements made on 31 March 2000 by the First Minister in the Scottish Parliament, and the Prime Minister, that 100% of public services, which could feasibly be delivered electronically, would be available online by 2005, it is reported that exceptional progress against Electronic Service Delivery ( ESD) targets for Scottish local authorities has been achieved.
There have been three national reports produced. The first report published in March 2003 showed that Councils were able to provide online information on 79 per cent of their services. The second report produced in July 2004, identified that local authorities continued to make progress, with information available online for 82 per cent of services. The third report published in July 2005 highlighted that information was available for 87 per cent of services. Figures were based upon a review of all 32 councils, 10 generic service areas and 46 core services. As well as measuring information online, the reports also measured transactional activities in line with the e-Europe 4-stage ESD framework.
These reports also set out that local authorities are working on the key objective to deliver public services at first contact, with citizens having a choice on how they transact with local authority services, via the telephone, face-to-face, online or (where appropriate) at home. For the core services (the ones that customers most frequently rely upon), every citizen who contacts their, or another, local authority will have their call answered within a reasonable time, with the ultimate target of 100% removal of 'abandoned' service calls.
To promote and support this improvement agenda, the Executive is working in partnership with local authorities, for example through the Modernising Government Fund ( MGF) over £100 million has already been provided to help finance projects that can deliver innovation, provide better information and more convenient joined-up services. But more importantly, to support councils and their community planning partners to ensure the policy drive that services are flexible, focused and delivered in a way that is convenient to the customer. This includes extended hours of working, electronic service delivery that provides a number of access channels for customers, the implementation of a single corporate infrastructure that underpins all of the available delivery channels, and the better management of the core data that support joined up services.
Electronic Service Delivery also supports the common and consistent use of a number of key business change / business transformation methods across Councils, and it encourages a common approach to a number of key service delivery and data sharing technologies. Councils are already contributing towards a set of measurable service improvements that customers will recognise, and enables the drive for efficiency and cost savings that can be reinvested in the further improvement of frontline services.
Since 2003, The Executive - in partnership with all 32 Scottish local authorities, has reported progress on ESD through an online reporting application. This internet-based tool has been fundamental to the information gathering and analysis in reporting national progress on ESD. During 2005, through a consultation process involving Councils' Modernising Government Fund Co-ordinators, an extension to the reporting requirements against the set of 46 core service activities has been developed.
A funding package of £34.55m from the third round of the MGF has been put in place for the 'Customer First' programme. However, the real value of the programme is significantly
more, with local authorities providing further funding through their own modernisation (business change) and efficiency programmes. A Benefits Realisation process will support the delivery of the ( MGF3) Customer First Programme by providing an agreed framework, and set of outcome measures, that will allow Councils to measure progress, and the programmes sponsors, and various management boards to monitor the deliverables, from the Programme.