Local authority services...on the rise online?

We’ve recently heard in the news how England and Scotland have joined Wales and Northern Ireland in rolling out faster broadband to more and more rural areas, allowing citizens the access to a faster connection for browsing the internet and downloading information. With this in mind, surely local authorities have to be looking to offer more services through their websites?

We have already talked on numerous occasions about the benefits of an online system, reducing the amount of money it costs for councils to handle bookings for a whole a range of services. Handling less phone calls and face to face meetings and embracing more online activity, has the potential to save substantial amounts of money. It also gives citizens the opportunity to access these services 24/7, from the comfort of their own home and with councils paying a lot of attention to their standards of customer service, this can only be seen as a plus.

With all of these advantages in mind, and central government seemingly looking to provide more and more people in the UK a top rate internet connection, the time for local government to handle more and more services through their website is definitely now.