Main developments and key milestones (in reverse chronological order)

Last updated: May 2011

For the latest developments, see: ePractice news for eGovernment

Recent News

April 2011

The UK Government's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has launched a free public procurement eCourse for businesses. 'Winning the Contract' is designed to help businesses learn about public procurement and how to bid for public sector contracts. The eCourse introduces businesses to key procurement processes, including:

• eProcurement;
• identifying the advantages and disadvantages of dealing with public bodies;
• understanding how different types of contracts are defined, advertised and dealt with;
• understanding approved supplier lists and framework agreements;
• searching for and finding public sector opportunities;
• identifying the key stages in the tendering process.

March 2011

• On 30 March 2011, the Cabinet Office published the 'Government ICT Strategy', confirming the UK's determination to move its public sector away from being locked in to large-scale single supplier proprietary software solutions.The strategy document intends to focus on an open approach to ICT, mandating open standards, re-aligning the playing field for open source and encouraging greater SME participation in government ICT contracts.
• UK Minister of State for Care Services Paul Burstow announced at a conference in London on 16 March 2011 that every prison in England from spring 2011 will be connected to a single national clinical IT system for healthcare. The single patient record system will allow medical records to follow offenders as they move between prisons and give those caring for them timely access to high quality clinical information.

January 2011

• On 6 January 2011, the UK's National Archives launched the first ever public sector directory of commercial services and solutions to help secure the long-term survival of digital information. As part of a project to safeguard its digital public records, the National Archives has developed the Digital Continuity Framework, which was launched on the same day in partnership with the national procurement partner for all UK public services. The framework provides access to guidance that can help public sector bodies understand and manage their information. The services and solutions in the framework include data conversion and migration services, data storage consultancy and digital archiving solutions.
• In the first week of January 2011, Westminster City Council launched a call for tenders for a web-based procurement portal that will display data related to all aspects of procurement activity across London's councils. The contract will be awarded in April 2011 and the portal will be launched in June of the same year. Even though Westminster is taking on the project, the portal will potentially display information from all London borough councils and public services, including the police and hospitals, and will help pave the way for collaborative procurement across the capital. The portal is intended to provide significant cost benefits for boroughs and enable suppliers to view potential commercial opportunities.

December 2010

As of 2 December 2010, expectant parents can compare and rate maternity services on a new online comparison service launched by the UK's Public Health Minister Anne Milton.The Government recently set out proposals to extend maternity choice to include pre-conception, antenatal and postnatal care. A new tool that will help parents-to-be make that choice is now available at 'www.nhs.uk', providing all interested parties the information they need to decide which maternity service is right for them.

November 2010

The 2010 NHS Choices annual report, published on 9 November 2010, shows that more patients than ever before are using the NHS website to find health information and self-diagnose, saving the NHS millions of euros a year. The NHS Choices website received over 100 million visits in 2010, 10 % more than in 2009.

October 2010

• On 6 October 2010, Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust (SUHT) was named the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists and UK Clinical Pharmacy Association's IT award winner for 2010 for its electronic discharge system. SUHT's eDischarge programme enables pharmacists and doctors to enter medicinal information directly into an electronic document before a patient is discharged, rather than on a handwritten sheet.
• On the same day, the HIV Resistance Response Database Initiative (RDI), a UK-based non-profit research group, launched an innovative system for predicting how individual patients with HIV and AIDS will respond to different drugs. The experimental system, called the HIV Treatment Response Prediction System (HIV-TRePS), is available free of charge over the Internet and helps doctors select the best treatment for their patients.

September 2010

• As announced in September 2010, the community health and social care partnership Orkney Health and Care launched a new telehealth service aimed to enhance the healthcare for patients in the Orkney Islands (northern Scotland) with long-term conditions.
• New online tools and features were made available for kidney patients at the Renal Patient View (RPV) website in September 2010. RPV, which is used by over 10 000 kidney patients, provides a secure online portal through which patients can view details of their diagnosis and latest test results. The new features are designed to help kidney patients take an active role in their care.

August 2010

On 4 August 2010, Wales launched automated speech software which enables information on computer screens to be read aloud in Welsh. The Welsh Synthetic Voice has been produced by the Royal National Institute of Blind People in Wales (RNIB Cymru) to help the blind and partially sighted people access information online, such as train timetables. In addition to surfing Welsh language websites, the Synthetic Voice will also enable people to freely download and read Welsh language books and to write and receive texts in Welsh.

July 2010

• As announced in July 2010, the City and County of Swansea (South West Wales) became the latest public sector organisation to implement the Welsh Assembly Government's eTrading service named 'xchangewales' and take advantage of the benefits and efficiencies of electronic procurement. 'xchangewales eTrading' is an online service that allows public sector buyers to view and order goods and services through a wide range of electronic catalogues and be able to transact electronically with their suppliers, including sending purchase orders and receiving invoices.
• NHS Direct began piloting three 'Online Patient Decision Aids' (OPDAs) aimed at helping patients make informed healthcare choices about their treatment. This web-based project constituted the first initiative of its kind in the United Kingdom.
• Since July 2010, the NHS Cumbria has been piloting a web system which allows community health staff to access patient records via electronic means while visiting patients in remote Cumbrian villages (North West England). NHS Cumbria pilots a primary care software developer's system to share patient records from 13 General Practitioners (GP) practices serving 75 000 patients with the community health teams. The 'mobile clinicians', equipped with netbooks, are able to view a summary of the patient records during home consultations.
• Government employees in the United Kingdom proposed the administration move to open source software, replacing proprietary operating systems and proprietary office tools, in an effort to cut costs. In June 2010, UK Prime Minister David Cameron called on the 600 000 civil servants to suggest ideas on how the government can save money.
• On 1 July 2010, the United Kingdom Government launched the'Your Freedom'website which invites the British public to suggest ways of cutting red tape for businesses, repealing unnecessary laws and supporting civil liberties.The focus of the website is on identifying laws and regulations which should be abolished. The submitted ideas are grouped into three policy areas: restoring civil liberties; repealing unnecessary laws and; cutting business and third sector regulations.

June 2010

• On 18 June 2010, the new coalition government announced the appointment of a new 'UK Digital Champion', tasked with focusing on encouraging as many people as possible to go online, and on improving the convenience and efficiency of public services by driving online delivery. The appointment was part of Government's drive to increase transparency and accountability.
• On 7 June 2010, the new online database named the 'Knowledge Network' was launched. The main purpose of the platform is to provide NHS staff with online information on areas such as patient care, clinical practice and research. Managed by the NHS Education for Scotland, the online resource includes a search engine that gives instant access to 11 million learning and information resources from over 100 providers, as well as a personal space for employees to gather information.
• On 4 June 2010, as part of the transparency initiative of the UK's Prime Minister, for the first time the Ministry of Economics and Finance (HM Treasury) published data on public expenditure from the Combined Online Information System (COINS), for the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 fiscal years. This action constituted an important step towards giving the public a greater understanding of where taxes were being spent and how the Government would deliver on its promise to be more open and transparent. The data is available through 'data.gov.uk'.

May 2010

On 24 May 2010, as part of the Government's drive to achieve £ 6.2 (€ 7.0) billion worth of spending cuts, a new joint Treasury-Cabinet Office group called the Efficiency and Reform Group was announced. The Group, formed by pulling together existing capabilities, intends to ensure departments work together to tackle waste and improve accountability across a range of areas.

April 2010

• The UK's Office of Government Commerce's (OGC's) Centre for eAuctions published on 16 March 2010 a 'Forward Plan for eAuctions' and launched a website dedicated to electronic auctions. Both initiatives aim to reduce the public sector costs by up to 270 million (approx. € 300 million) by the end of 2011-2012.
• The 'Digital Economy Act 2010' regulating digital media receives Royal Assent on 8 April 2010. The Act's provisions against copyright infringement established a system of law which aimed to first increase the ease of tracking down and suing persistent infringers after a minimum of one year permit, introduce 'technical measures' to reduce the quality of, or potentially terminate, those infringers' internet connections. It also created a new ex-judicial process to handle appeals.

February 2010

The UK Government published a new ICT strategy for the public sector aimed at simplifying and standardising ICT across the public sector to enable interoperability and data sharing, while providing flexibility and efficient services that will deliver savings of over £ 3.2 (€ 3.6) billion per year. The strategy is to be realised through fourteen delivery strands spanning three thematic areas: common infrastructure, common standards and common capabilities.

January 2010

A website ('data.gov.uk') was launched to the public on 20 January 2010 which offers free access to UK government data in one place. The site contains more than 2 500 sets of data from across the UK Government. All of the data is non-personal and in a format that can be reused by any individual or business to create innovative new software tools, such as applications about house prices, local amenities and services, or access to local hospitals.

News 2009-2001

2009

• On 7 December 2009, the Prime Minister announced the publication of an action plan entitled 'Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government' which set out the priorities for the Government to improve public services outcome while reducing public expenditure.
  In December 2009, the British Geological Survey (BGS) launched Applied Geoscience, an online service for viewing maps, downloading photographs and other geological information. The use of the Applied Geoscience material is free-of-charge for non-commercial private study, research and educational activities.

• In November 2009, the UK Land Registry produced a new Flood Risk Indicator, made available online in the 'Find-a-Property' section of the Land Registry website.
• A new interactive national map service, launched in October 2009, gave access to local crime statistics and neighbourhood policing details. The website was developed by the National Policing Improvement Agency and police forces across England and Wales, on behalf of the Home Office.
  Patients in England became able to rate and compare their family doctor (GPs) practices on a new online comparison service launched on 14 October 2009 by the Minister for Health Services. The Government announced that it would be opening up more choices for patients as they would soon be able to register with a GP practice of their choice.

• Starting in September 2009, a new facility via an online email form began to be used to report suspects for tax evasion to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
  Since September 2009, the eGovernment portal 'Directgov' has been providing traffic and transport updates, accessible online, as well as via mobile phones.

• The Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Action website, launched in July 2009 through 'Directgov', allows users to check actions taken in order to combat anti-social behaviour in their local area and to contact persons in charge of tackling such behaviour locally.
• A new portal for Government procurement professionals was launched in June 2009 by the Government Procurement Service (GPS). Based on the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), the service aims to raise professional skills and capability across the central Government procurement community.
  In June 2009, the UK Cabinet Office launched a new Digital Engagement Blog - an interactive tool that encourages and empowers citizens- engagement in the work of public services. The tool allows better use of published information, stimulating a more transparent and effective Government.

• On 10 March 2009, the Government published the document 'Working Together - Public Services on your side', with the aim to set out how the delivery of enhanced services would be accelerated over the coming years.
• On 24 February 2009, the Government published a new policy on Open Source software aimed to ensure maximum value for money for taxpayers. The policy included 10 actions to ensure that best value for money software solutions are put forward for tenders, be they Open Source or proprietary products.
• On 29 January 2009, the 'Digital Britain: the Interim Report' was published by the Government. The report contained more than 20 recommendations aimed at securing Britain's place at the forefront of the global digital economy.

2008

• Starting in November 2008, patients looking for information on the choices available for their healthcare were able to find it all on one National Health Service (NHS) website. NHS Choices and NHS Direct, two of the country's leading health websites, merged.
  The UK's Department of Health launched on 7 November 2008 a new database to help identify the incidence and causes of sudden cardiac death. Designed by pathologists and cardiologists and funded by the Department, the database was intended to be a key instrument for understanding the incidence and causes of inheritable conditions that can cause sudden cardiac death.

• The UK Government endorsed recommendations made by the Parliament's Procedure Committee to accept ePetitions through the parliamentary website. The endorsement came in a statement released on 22 July 2008. According to the proposal, electronic petitions would be hosted on the Parliament's website for a limited time to enable interested individuals to add their names.
  In July 2008, the Cabinet Office published the 'Transformational Government Annual Report 2007', which covered the period from January 2007 to January 2008. The report described the latest developments towards designing and delivering public services around the needs of citizens.
  The General Registry Office (GRO) in Northern Ireland developed in July 2008 a new service through the Government Gateway, where citizens were able to pay online for GRO services (e.g. births, deaths and marriages).

• The National Assembly for Wales launched on 15 April 2008 a new range of eDemocracy services aimed at encouraging greater dialogue between the Assembly and Welsh citizens. They include a new ePetition system, 'senedd.tv' (an enhanced webcasting service), eForums and a quick vote facility for online consultations for committee inquiries.
  In that same month, a new electronic patient-record system, the NI Emergency Care Record (NIECR), was launched by the Northern Ireland Health Minister. The system was intended to improve emergency care for patients attending accident and emergency departments and out-of-hours doctors’ services.
  Starting in April 2008, Northern Ireland's JobCentreOnline allowed citizens to search for jobs by wage range or region. The latest enhancement to JobCentreOnline included the option for users to receive free text message alerts about new job vacancies.

• The UK National Health Service (NHS) introduced in February 2008 a new text-messaging search facility to help people locate the nearest health services.
• The UK Home Office announced in January 2008 that it had completed its global system for checking the fingerprints of visa applicants, ahead of both time and budget.
  A new on-line service, which provided businesses with information on and access to the many business opportunities linked to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, was launched on 17 January 2008. The aim of CompeteFor is to improve access to London 2012 business opportunities for enterprises of all sizes and to increase the transparency and ease of the procurement process.

2007

• In December 2007, the Account NI website was launched which provided a modern fit for purpose accounting systems.
• In October 2007, an ambitious pilot project to test the compatibility of several different electronic ID (eID) systems, was scheduled to be undertaken in the UK. The pilot, worth over € 20 million, was part of the EU's eID STORK project and aimed to establish EU-wide interoperability for eIDs by 2010.
• In July 2007, a report by the National Audit Office showed that UK government websites had improved only slightly since 2002. The Government planned to move information into two main 'supersites' - 'Directgov' and 'businesslink.gov.uk', so as to give the public and businesses a simple pathway to information and services.
• In June 2007, the 'Power of Information Review' was published in order to assess how the Government can harness the phenomenon of internet advice-sharing sites and empower people with information that could help improve their lives. The review looked at how non-personal public sector information could be reused and reinvigorated outside of Government to generate public and economic value.
• In March 2007, the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) and Intelligent Addressing, a company specialised in address and data management, published a new booklet which observed the success of two British Government IT projects: the 'National Land and Property Gazetteer' (NPLG) and the 'National Street Gazetteer' (NSG).
  In that same month, 'LocalGov.TV', UK's online TV service for local Government modernisation, launched 'eGovEurope.TV', a new free-to-view online channel focusing on European public service modernisation.
  In March 2007, the UK Land Registry opened up all its services to electronic customers. It enabled customers to pay electronically for land charge applications, preliminary services and any application lodged by post, telephone or through 'Land Registry Direct'.

• In January 2007, the 'Transformational Government Annual Report 2006' was published. This first annual report covered the progress across the three main themes of the UK’s eGovernment strategy: customer-centric services, shared services and professionalism.
  In that same month, according to a Cabinet Office press release, the number of central Government websites was to be drastically reduced, in a move that would benefit tens of millions of users. Information of continuing relevance from closed sites would be transferred to the 'www.direct.gov.uk' and 'www.businesslink.gov.uk' portals.

2006

• In December 2006, 'Directgov', the UK Government portal which provides a single point of access to all on-line public services, started offering its services via mobile phone.
• In September 2006, the UK's Centre for Excellence for Local eDemocracy was transformed into the International Centre for Excellence for Local eDemocracy (ICELE). The new centre aimed to support and to promote local eDemocracy throughout the world. To this end, ICELE would help local authorities improve two-way engagement with communities by providing best practice advice, support and practical solutions, while focusing on the use of technology.
• In April 2006, important new measures which would enable data sharing became law in the UK. Having received Royal Assent, the 'Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act' intended to strengthen borders by allowing data sharing between the Immigration Service, police and customs, as part of the eBorders programme.
• In March 2006, the UK Government launched the 'National Planning Application Register' service, allowing interested citizens and firms to access the vast majority of planning applications made in England and Wales.
  In that same month, a scheme for verifying the personal details of passport applicants, which was intended to provide the basis for an ID card checking system, went live.

• In February 2006, in a bid to cut back on public procurement costs, the UK Government launched 'Zanzibar', a web-based purchase-to-pay (P2P) and electronic marketplace solution, which was heralded as the market place for single-point government shopping. It was intended to make public procurement more efficient, open the public procurement market to smaller suppliers and generate considerable savings for Government by facilitating the uptake of lower-cost eProcurement practices among public bodies.

2005

• In November 2005, the UK’s new eGovernment strategy entitled 'Transformational Government - Enabled by Technology', was presented. The document set the strategy for transforming public services using ICT. It outlined how effective use of technology designed around citizens' and businesses' needs would transform people's daily lives.
• In July 2005, an agreement was established between the eGovernment Unit (eGU) and the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), which set the details of their collaboration to drive the development and effective use of IT across Government. The eGU was tasked with strategic, architectural, technical and operational delivery as well as performance issues, while the OGC would define commercial, financial and contractual delivery processes.
• In April 2005, the UK Government launched a new national 'Digital Strategy' aimed at tackling the persistent digital divide and low uptake of eGovernment services by citizens. The document laid down a number of goals, including: to make the UK a world leader in digital excellence; to construct a robust strategy to achieve the digital vision; to tackle social exclusion; and, to bridge the digital divide.
• In March 2005, the UK Government launched 'Government Connect', a new service aimed at helping local authorities improve their efficiency and connect more effectively with their customers, with each other and with the central Government. The ultimate aim was that all local authorities would use the system by the end of 2007, thus achieving efficiencies in service delivery and costs.
• In January 2005, a 'CIO Council' was created. Composed of 30 Chief Information Officers (CIOs) drawn from the central Government, local authorities and other public agencies, the CIO Council was tasked with promoting the role of CIOs in the public sector and at increasing the success rate of Government IT projects.
  In that same month, the UK Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 came fully into force, which required public sector bodies to make information more readily available to the general public.

2004

• In September 2004, the Office of the eEnvoy was replaced by an eGovernment Unit in the Cabinet Office. The Unit was led by a 'Head of eGovernment'.
• In July 2004, the 'Independent Review of Public Sector Efficiency' was published. Identifying potential for efficiency gains in Government operations with a view to releasing resources for frontline service delivery, the review outlined the role of eGovernment as key to the UK Government's efficiency drive.
• In June 2004, the Home Office announced the rollout of the Iris Recognition Immigration System, a biometric border control system in a number of key airports across the country with a view to improve immigration control.
• In April 2004, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) (present-day Communities and Local Government) published the 'Priority Outcomes for Local eGovernment'. It focused on local eGovernment implementation and the use of central Government capital grant money for local eGovernment implementation on a series of key priority outcomes to assist all local councils reach the 2005 target for full electronic service delivery capability.
• In March 2004, the first phase of 'Directgov' was launched. It became the UK Government's new portal, bringing together a wide range of public services for citizens.
• In February 2004, an upgraded version of the Government Secure Intranet (GSI) went live, providing over 280 000 users in central and local government with restricted-level access to better services and functionalities. Its main purpose was to enable connected organisations to communicate securely in an electronic manner.      

2003

In November 2003, the eGovernment portal for businesses 'BusinessLink.gov.uk' was launched, providing access to Government information and services for businesses, business owners and managers.
During the same month, the Home Office announced the introduction of an ID card scheme over several years to tackle issues such as illegal work, immigration abuse, fraud, terrorism and organised crime. ID cards would be linked to a new and secure national identity database.

2002

• In November 2002, the 'National Strategy for Local eGovernment' was launched. This strategy provided a framework to transform local council services, linking them with other public services and offering greater choice, convenience and accessibility for customers, as well as greater cost-effectiveness for councils.
• In June 2002, the document 'Delivering 21st century IT support for the NHS' was published, setting a national strategic programme for IT in the National Health Service.
• In April 2002, the National Audit Office (NAO) published the report 'Government on the Web II'. As a follow-up to the 1999 'Government on the Web' report, it surveyed progress in implementing eGovernment in central and local government.
  In that same month, the 'Privacy and data-sharing: The way forward for public services' report was published by the Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU). The report prioritised data efficiency in the Government agenda and created the twin objectives for enhancing privacy and making better use of personal data to deliver smarter and more trusted public services.

• The National Audit Office published the 'Better public services through eGovernment' report. It considered departments’ progress in achieving eGovernment, focusing on the actions taken to improve the delivery of IT projects and manage the risks face by the various departments.

2001

• In December 2001, the Office of the eEnvoy published the 'ePolicy Principles', a set of guidelines for policy-makers across Government designed to ensure that new Government policies were effective in the eWorld.
• In February 2001, the 'Government Gateway' was launched, which constituted a secure authentication and transaction engine and acted as a central hub designed to help link eGovernment services across Government departments.

News 2000 and before

• In December 2000, the 'UKonline.gov.uk' citizen portal was set up, providing a one-stop shop to public services online.
• In April 2000, the 'eGovernment: a strategic framework for public services in the Information Age', UK’s official eGovernment strategy, was published. This strategic framework challenged all public sector organisations to innovate, committed all central Government departments to develop eBusiness strategies and also challenged the centre of Government to provide the necessary common infrastructure and leadership.
• In September 2000, the 'UK Online' initiative was launched. By bringing together new actions and investments with a series of pre-existing ones, it aimed to deliver universal Internet access, literacy and usage in Britain by 2005.
• In 1999, the 'Modernising Government Action Plan' was published. The plan listed 62 commitments for the first two years of the 'Modernising Government' programme, including the development of a single electronic gateway aimed at opening up a range of one-stop-shop services.      
• In February 1998, the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) published the report 'Electronic Government: Information Technologies and the Citizen', which assessed how ICT could be used by the Government to improve internal working and the delivery of public services.
• In October 1997, the Prime Minister set a target that 25 % of all dealings with the Government should be capable of being carried out electronically by 2002 through the use of telephone, television or computer.
• In November 1996, the Government published the 'Government Direct' Green Paper ('Government Direct: A prospectus for the Electronic Delivery of Government Services'), which outlined the way in which Government might make use of ICT within Government departments and in its dealings with citizens and businesses.
• In October 1994, the Central Computer & Telecommunications Agency (CCTA), under the responsibility of the Cabinet Office, established a central Government website ('open.gov.uk'), directing Internet users to departmental and agency sites. CCTA also hosted websites on its servers for departments and agencies new to the Internet.