E-government: Unusable and still digitally divided
Three-quarters of a selection of 20 government websites surveyed in a recent report are sub-standard and in need of attention.

The research commissioned by Interactive Bureau and carried out by Portman Research, reveals websites loaded down by masses of unexplained jargon an wholesale reproduction of official documents, and suffering from poor navigation and and slow loading. The Prime Minister's site fared particularly badly, managing only 19th place among the twenty selected.

Interactive Bureau point to user-centred and accessible design, technology and communication strategy as three essential elements in any government website, and laments the lack of understanding of these issues among government staff. "The private sector has already started to learn the lesson. Few sites are built for our major companies now without proper planning and analysis of audiences and expectations - without an expert in usability casting an eye over them, without all content being re-examined and re-purposed for the Web. [...] It is time the Government began to do the same." Quite. Read more on Interactive Bureau's website.

Meanwhile a UK Department of Work and Pensions survey just published highlighted potential problems with demand for online services. The survey of public attitudes toward the use of electronic benefit services found that while around 50% of clients have some technology knowledge, around 30% have never used a computer. When informed of the possibilities for online services, around half said they would be likely to use the Internet to contact the Department.

For more information, see "Electronic government at the Department for Work and Pensions: Attitudes to electronic methods of conducting benefit business"