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Electronic Government
5. Mr. Neil Gerrard (Walthamstow): What assessment he has made of the public response to his proposals for electronic government. [43499]
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Dr. David Clark): Information technology is the key to improving services for everyone in our society. I firmly believe that the emphasis must be on ease of access. Great potential exists for the Government to deliver information and services to our citizens at the time and place of their choosing and by the method that is most convenient to them. I am determined to make the best of the technology on offer to make sure that service in the public sector is not second best to service in the private sector.
Mr. Gerrard: If we are to have Government services delivered by electronic means, is it not important that they are easy to use and accessible? Is my right hon. Friend aware that significant numbers of people still cannot afford computers and that elderly people in particular do not feel comfortable using them? What is he doing to ensure that the needs of those people are not forgotten and that services available electronically are accessible to as many people as possible?
Dr. Clark: My hon. Friend makes a valuable point. Technology is not an end in itself; it is there to make people's lives easier. I lay great stress on technology improving access for all. I do not want a society of IT haves and have nots to develop. I am formulating a range of initiatives to ensure that that does not happen. I was delighted that the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport endorsed that approach. I should point out to the House that, in 10 to 15 years, in an age of digital television, people will have access to services from their own front room as a matter of course. I make the commitment from this Dispatch Box that, at no stage, will we phase in technology without making the paper alternative available for those who are more comfortable with it. We are also conscious that there are difficulties for people with certain types of disability, and we are taking those issues on board.
Mr. Tony Baldry (Banbury): Does the Chancellor accept that new technology can obfuscate as much as illuminate? For example, letters can be churned out by computer. The Benefits Agency seems to write to all claimants by computer-processed letters, which often are not clear and do not explain why benefit has not been granted. Will the Chancellor look at that? Often, the most vulnerable people in our society need to have information presented clearly to them and the fact that it is done by new technology does not necessarily make the information any clearer.
Dr. Clark: I would not pretend for a moment that we can conduct Government business without using new
technologies such as computers and processors, but I shall draw to the attention of the Benefits Agency the point that the hon. Gentleman has made. I know that it is a matter of concern to many hon. Members on both sides of the House; our constituents continually remind us of it.
Mr. Dale Campbell-Savours (Workington): Any news on Genesis?
Dr. Clark: In the beginning--but my hon. Friend and I both know what he is really talking about. I guess that he is referring to an innovative IT scheme being launched by the county of Cumbria. My Department is working with the county to try to expand the use of that technology, which will revolutionise access to services in Cumbria. Together with my hon. Friend and our hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Mr. Martlew), I was delighted to launch the scheme and to link up two schools which are in the same local authority district, but 100 miles apart. That made me realise the implications of such technology.
Sir George Young (North-West Hampshire): The House may recall recently seeing a photograph of the right hon. Gentleman holding a prototype of an electronic red box. How many of his colleagues have placed a firm order for this device and what improvements in public service should we begin to look out for?
Dr. Clark: I welcome the right hon. Gentleman to his new post. I hope that he finds it worth while and enjoyable, and that he will have long tenure in it.
The electronic red box, as the right hon. Gentleman rightly says, is a prototype--
Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex):
Ah!
Dr. Clark:
The right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire (Sir G. Young) recognises that, even if the hon. Gentleman does not. We are now looking at the next prototype, which will be much smaller--the size of a laptop. Within the next few weeks, we hope to be able to share its secrets with the world.
We are now looking at the possibility of biometric recognition--reading a person's iris--to open up the red box. When that is up and running, I believe that it will revolutionise the work of Ministers and ensure that, wherever they are in the world, they will have access to the Government secure intranet.
6. Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby):
If he will make a statement about the use of the internet by Government Departments. [43500]
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Dr. David Clark):
I was staggered on coming to office to discover that Government Departments could not communicate with each other electronically; nor could they even e-mail each other. One of my key priorities was to put that right. I recently launched the Government secure intranet, which makes it possible for Government Departments to have safe, controlled and
More importantly, the service is being used. At the launch of the GSI, just over 4,000 civil servants had e-mail access--that was just six weeks ago. The number has now risen to more than 12,000, and it will continue to increase. By the end of the year, I hope that every Government Department will be connected.
Mr. Quinn:
I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer in respect of Westminster and Whitehall. How can people such as those in my constituency who live in more sparsely populated areas expect the technology revolution to help and empower them, so that they, as citizens, can take part in government to the fullest extent?
Dr. Clark:
We are keen to use IT for the benefit of our citizens. I happen to believe that those, such as my hon. Friend's constituents, who live in more rural areas, will be among the main beneficiaries. Instead of having to traipse from one Government office to another--that can often mean from one town to another in rural areas--they will find that information technology, one-stop shops and highly motivated staff will allow them access to Government services across Departments, and even possibly across central and local government, at one point of access.
Sir Peter Tapsell (Louth and Horncastle):
Would the need for electronic communication be less urgent if more senior Ministers were on speaking terms with each other?
Dr. Clark:
Under this Government, Ministers speak to each other both electronically and personally.
Mr. Gordon Prentice (Pendle):
My right hon. Friend mentioned the number of civil servants with an e-mail address rising from 4,000 to 12,000. What provision is being made to archive e-mail communications, which might otherwise disappear into the ether and be lost to history?
Dr. Clark:
My hon. Friend makes a reasonable point and the matter is one with which we have had to wrestle as we develop our freedom of information legislation. We have to try to ensure that electronic communications and electronic records are kept for the record and we are making provisions for that to be done.
7. Mr. David Heath (Somerton and Frome):
If he plans to require (a) Government Departments and (b) public bodies to establish, maintain and make available to public inspection computer-held terriers of property holdings. [43501]
The Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service (Mr. Peter Kilfoyle):
Individual Departments, agencies and other public bodies are responsible for establishing and maintaining proper records of their property holdings, following central guidance. All such information held by those bodies would come within the scope of the proposed freedom of information Act.
Mr. Heath:
Is the hon. Gentleman as surprised as I am at the paucity of information on public bodies' property
Mr. Kilfoyle:
The hon. Gentleman may not be aware that there is such as thing as the national assets register, which was published initially on 24 November last year. Details of those assets, including property holdings, are published on the internet and are accessible to the wider public.
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