UK online Annual Report 2002

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6. Sign off last year's Action Plan
 

Recommendation 1

Action

Take forward an action plan with industry to drive broadband roll-out and take-up

• Continue to drive forward competitive access to BT's local loop via Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) by: close monitoring of take-up of LLU and the details of implementation, and acting swiftly to resolve new and existing disputes relating to any aspect of LLU.

Subsumed

• Continue to promote competition in retail Digital Subscriber Loop (DSL) by ensuring BT's wholesale DSL services are available on fair and non-discriminatory terms.

Subsumed

• Work to increase competition in DSL by requiring BT to provide interconnection services to enable operators to offer competing DSL services.

Completed

• Work to increase competition in leased lines, used by larger businesses for internet access, by requiring BT to provide partial private circuits (PPCs) at wholesale prices.

Subsumed

• Make more radio spectrum available, opening up the potential for more wireless broadband services.

Subsumed

• Pilot teleworking facilities in UK online centres, exploring different commercial models for engaging the private sector in provision of teleworking space.

Taken forward

• Consider how regional and local portals can best provide a focal point for public sector broadband content.

Subsumed

• Consult with the building industry and broadband service providers to identify the best approach to ensure cable ducting is installed in all new buildings.

Taken forward

• Use fiscal measures to stimulate demand for broadband by: more extensive marketing of the existing measure which allows businesses to offset 100% of ICT investment - including investment in broadband access equipment - against tax in the first year; and encouraging teleworking at home by employees whose employers want to provide them with broadband connectivity, through relaxation of personal benefit taxation.

Taken forward

• Work with the broadband supply industry to facilitate a collaborative campaign to promote the benefits of broadband and give impartial advice on the different technological options available.

Taken forward

• Provide more encouragement to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt e-commerce solutions.

Subsumed

• Stimulate the market for online content for teaching and learning and enable schools to have access to rich materials, including broadband content, as part of taking forward the Government's proposals for Curriculum Online.

Subsumed

• Develop Culture Online to offer children and adults tailored access to the nation's arts and cultural resources through the internet and other digital channels. This will enable millions more people to engage in cultural activities and will open new opportunities for participation, learning and enhancing skills.

Subsumed

• Introduce broadband support services for health professionals, including development of the National Electronic Library for Health (NeLH).

Taken forward

• Develop an infrastructure to promote blue-skies research in public sector broadband applications. As a first step, we will establish in partnership with the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) a centre of excellence in broadband learning, based at Futurelab in Bristol, and an Industry Placement Scheme to enable small digital content firms to participate in Futurelab.

Completed

• As part of the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI's) current review of its business support activities, ensure that, where applicable, they meet the needs of the digital content sector.

Taken forward

• Work with the Digital Content Forum to raise the content industry's wareness of the R&D tax credit and how it works, and to intensify marketing of the tax credit as a driver for R&D in the content sector.

Taken forward

• Work in partnership with the digital content sector and other interested parties to stimulate pilots which test different commercial models around broadband content.

Subsumed

• Encourage the telecommunications industry to come forward with specific proposals for broadband infrastructure sharing.

Completed

• Introduce a fast-track, light-touch licensing regime for small transmitting satellite earth stations and a quick online clearance system for new satellite sites.

Taken forward

• Review planning regulations pertaining to satellite terminals to determine how current rules restricting a residential property to a single antenna could be relaxed, while continuing to minimise the environmental/visual impact of residential satellite terminals.

Taken forward

• Task the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) to consider what they can do to help Government departments procure broadband more effectively, including acting as a source of guidance on broadband procurement.

Subsumed

• Draw up detailed departmental communications and IT expenditure plans, as part of the 2002 Spending Review.

Completed

• Establish a Broadband Brokerage Service pilot, initially in one region.

Completed

• Promote further competition in mobile telephony.

Taken forward

Recommendation 2

Action

Modernise the regulatory and legal framework in the UK to meet the needs of e-commerce

• Introduce legislation to establish a single regulator for the communications sector: the Office of Communications (OFCOM).

Subsumed

• Continue to co-ordinate the use of the Electronic Communications Act Section 8 order-making power and ensure progress in its use by departments for the electronic delivery of services and the removal of statutory barriers to e-commerce.

Taken forward

• Identify where regulatory regimes may need to be modernised to ensure that they remain relevant to changes brought about by the internet.

Taken forward

• Sponsor and disseminate e-business research and analysis: publish overview of sectoral impact of e-commerce.

Taken forward

Recommendation 3

Action

Promote a secure environment for e-commerce

• Complete the implementation of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 during 2002 and continue to consult with business to ensure the legislation is protecting public safety without impeding the development of e-commerce.

Taken forward

• Develop and promulgate by December 2001, principles designed to help policy makers ensure that legislative proposals do not affect e-commerce adversely, by providing a tool to analyse the impact that local, national and international policy decisions and legislative proposals may have on e-commerce.

Completed

Recommendation 4

Action

Take action with international partners to develop an effective, light-touch global framework for e-commerce

• Conclude memoranda of understanding with Australia, Canada and New Zealand in 2002.

Taken forward

• Implement the eEurope action plan.

Taken forward

• Promote adoption internationally of: 'country of origin' principle; co-regulatory approach; alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for e-commerce.

Taken forward

• Press for a transparent and liberal e-commerce framework.

Taken forward

• Take international lead in updating tax regime.

Taken forward

Recommendation 5

Action

Work to integrate all Government Internet access initiatives into one UK online-branded programme

• Work with industry to enhance awareness and uptake of the incentive for PC leasing schemes and, in the light of that partnership, to evaluate the effectiveness of those incentives and if necessary make recommendations for further Government action to encourage employers to introduce leasing schemes for their employees.

Subsumed

• Take forward its commitment to explore a leasing scheme to make top-quality ICT hardware available to pupils and teachers at very low prices.

Subsumed

• Drawing on evidence from the Wired Up Communities pilots, consider the costs and benefits of offering those in other groups (e.g. those with low incomes) the opportunity to lease internet access devices.

Subsumed

• Work with key players in the public and private sector to develop a comprehensive action plan to maximise the benefits of digital television (DTV) which will be published by February 2002.

Subsumed

• Initiate a formal review of progress towards switchover since the the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced in September 1999 the criteria to be met before switching off analogue terrestrial transmissions could be considered.

Subsumed

• Consider the Viewers' Panel report on consumers' view of progress and Panel recommendations. Report to be published later this year.

Completed

• Pilot new initiatives in Post Offices to help people access and use the internet.

Completed

Recommendation 6

Action

Complete the network of 6,000 UK online centres by the end of 2002 and encourage improvements in the range and quality of UK online services offered by centres, and work with the voluntary and community sector to bridge the digital divide

• Continue to develop the network of UK online centres, and as part of this, work with UK online centres to help them develop sustainability strategies by examining their potential to be: a gateway to basic skills training and a pathway to more structured learning (e.g. learndirect); a signpost to services aimed at small businesses (e.g. UK online for business); an introduction to e-Government services (e.g. through ukonline.gov.uk); points of access to new media-rich broadband services; and part of a pilot programme, in partnership with the private sector, to test the feasibility of a national network of teleworking centres.

Completed

• Publish the report of a major survey of the ICT needs of the voluntary and community sector to inform future policy on ICT-related assistance to the sector.

Completed

• Based on the above report and further consultation with the sectors, develop a strategy, as part of the wider UK online campaign, to encourage the development of ICT skills in the sector and the sector's capacity to produce high quality internet content.

Subsumed

• Establish e-awards for the voluntary and community sector to recognise and promote best practice.

Completed

• Commence discussions with the sector on whether to establish an additional Code of Good Practice to the Compact on ICT matters.

Completed

• Consider how best to raise the capacity of UK online centres to support the development of locally-inspired community content and how this might be linked to the development of local and regional portals.

Subsumed

Recommendation 7

Action

Support a local and national advertising and marketing campaign both to raise awareness of the benefits of the Internet and to signpost non-users to UK online services

• Continue to support the UK online brand, with a new campaign starting in November 2001.

Subsumed

• Ensure that UK online communications and marketing raises awareness of all of its internet access initiatives by integrating all existing and any new initiatives into one UK online-branded programme.

Subsumed

• Hold a review of the UK online campaign's impact.

Completed

Recommendation 8

Action

Recognise ICT as a basic skill and continue working to embed ICT in the education system and throughout lifelong learning

• Recognise ICT literacy as a basic skill and audit existing and future programmes to ensure that they support basic ICT skills training.

Subsumed

• Investigate barriers to the development and availability of high quality cultural content.

Subsumed

Recommendation 9

Action

Continue working with industry to help people trust the internet

• Undertake a publicity campaign on safe internet shopping, working with the private sector, in the run-up to Christmas, to encourage consumers to shop online by explaining how they can do so safely.

Subsumed

• Raise awareness of the national consumer complaints and enquiries website launched by Midcots Trading Standards services in October this year.

Completed

• Work with the EU to develop the European Extra-Judicial Network (EEJ-Net), following the launch of its pilot phase in October.

Subsumed

• Launch public consultations on these frameworks early in 2002, setting out the barriers to wider use of trust services amongst businesses and citizens, and explaining the action the Government will take to overcome these barriers.

Subsumed

• Review the many applications of smart cards and other smart tokens within the UK, developing policy to maximise the benefit from these schemes and ensuring that they can be used to simplify authentication mechanisms, making secure electronic transactions available to all who want to use them.

Subsumed

• Continue the Outreach Programme, run by the National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC) with owners of systems supporting critical services in the private sector, and in Government, and to expand the programme as resources permit.

Taken forward

• Continue to promote international co-operation on these issues, particularly by using Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs), plus other appropriate organisations.

Taken forward

• Continually assess the threat, provide information on it, and issue alerts and warnings to its Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) clients. NISCC will post significant items on its website (www.niscc.gov.uk), or otherwise draw attention to them for a more general audience. NISCC will also consider whether developing any new fora could assist with these tasks.

Taken forward

• Continue to raise awareness, amongst UK companies, of the need for information security and continue to promote information security best practice through BS ISO/IEC 17799.

Taken forward

• Continue to promote information security through international fora. The UK has participated in the work to update the OECD security guidelines and make them more relevant to the information age. These will be published shortly before the anniversary of the 11 September disasters.

Taken forward

• Deliver a public awareness campaign on internet safety relating to chat room use from December 2001.

Completed

• Publish a National Hi-Tech Crime Strategy by summer 2002.

Subsumed

• Consult stakeholders on specific measures for tackling 'grooming'.

Taken forward

• Work with industry to promote the TrustUK hallmark for e-commerce websites.

Subsumed

• Promote tScheme.

Taken forward

Recommendation 10

Action

Undertake a sustained, high-profile marketing and communications strategy on relevant sources of advice and information for businesses

• Undertake a sustained, high-profile marketing and communications strategy that develops a simple, compelling message with supporting PR campaigns, generation of case studies, and sign-posting to relevant sources of advice and information.

Subsumed

Recommendation 11

Action

Place greater emphasis on sector-specific activities, building on the series of sector impact studies

• Place greater emphasis on sector-specific activities, building on the series of sector impact studies. These will help generate further pioneering activities sponsored by UK online for business and the relevant Directorates, which can then be applied to a wider audience within the sector as learning hubs or examples of good/best practice.

Subsumed

Recommendation 12

Action

Develop generic content on cross-cutting themes relevant to all sectors

• Develop generic content on cross-cutting themes relevant to all sectors which will identify the strategic and organisational issues that lie at the heart of transforming existing practices and exploiting the benefits of the technologies, which can then be applied throughout industry.

Subsumed

Recommendation 13

Action

Launch a redesigned web environment at the heart of UK online for business

• Launch a redesigned web environment at the heart of UK online for business that acts as a portal into each element of these sector-specific activities and generic areas of work.

Taken forward

Recommendation 14

Action

Work with industry to develop a UK strategy for m-commerce

• Develop a strategy for secure, innovative introduction of m-commerce.

Taken forward

Recommendation 15

Action

Refine analysis of customer groupings and carry out customer needs analyses and the Office of the e-Envoy will work with departments to introduce e-business strategies for key customer segments

• Ensure that departments develop online services based on customer consultation and an understanding of customers' needs.

Subsumed

• Improve departments' understanding of the pattern of service provision which will be most useful for different groups of customers.

Taken forward

Recommendation 16

Action

Ensure there is a strategy, with a measurable baseline, to maximise take-up of e-services

• Develop Government venturing to develop innovative approaches to online service delivery.

Subsumed

• Develop and implement realistic take-up targets for online services.

Taken forward

• Build on the work of the local authority pathfinders in the following years.

Taken forward

• Build on the work of the Implementing Electronic Government Statements to see how these support the national agenda.

Subsumed

• Encourage greater involvement by local authorities in the emerging national projects and standards frameworks.

Subsumed

• Build a national strategy for local government which will help to guide the agenda and to identify those services which the public feel will make the most significant difference to their experience with all tiers of Government.

Completed

• Identify and remove the barriers to the widespread take-up of authentication services by individuals and business users. In particular, we will work with industry to promote the critical importance of authentication and security for enabling e-business and e-Government.

Taken forward

Recommendation 17

Action

Re-engineer departmental business processes to fully exploit new technologies

• Take forward a range of joined-up projects, firmly based on customer needs analysis.

Subsumed

• Provide greater integration and personalisation of Government websites within the ukonline.gov.uk framework.

Taken forward

• Develop the 'life episodes' approach based on 'trigger events' that will be tailored to individuals.

Completed

Recommendation 18

Action

Ensure that key transactional services are e-enabled via the Government Gateway

• Develop a single payments engine, allowing bills generated by Government departments to be settled online within a secure environment.

Taken forward

• Develop a two-way e-mail environment allowing secure communication with Government departments.

Completed

• Develop the ability to request downloads of documents such as tax statements.

Completed

• Work with trust service providers to ensure interoperability with Government.

Subsumed

Recommendation 19

Action

Drive forward citizen participation in democracy

• Redesign Citizen Space on ukonline.gov.uk. The proposal is to turn it into a showcase example for e-democracy, providing an improved set of electronic fora designed to enhance public participation.

Taken forward

• Promote online participation across central Government. The proposal is to include online participation in departments' e-business strategies and to develop Award Schemes with an e-democracy focus.

Taken forward

• Develop a detailed plan for implementation of electronic voting. The proposal is to develop a detailed plan for implementation based on the research project and electronic registration project currently undertaken, and results from e-voting pilots in local elections in 2002.

Taken forward

Recommendation 20

Action

Further develop a cross-Government knowledge management system

• Exploit the step change in capacity for cross-Government communications, collaboration and knowledge management that the Knowledge Network infrastructure is putting in place for the UK Government.

Subsumed

• Complete the introduction of a complementary Government-wide local and regional knowledge-sharing system.

Taken forward

• Introduce a new system for the Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU) to enable online 'evidence-based' policy-making to be developed through web-based collaborative working between PIU staff, officials in other departments and key players in academia and the wider policy community.

Completed

• Begin the drive to online community-based working amongst key operational groups throughout Government, beyond their departmental silos - including Public Expenditure Guidance, Regulatory Impact Unit and the Government Legal Service.

Taken forward

• Trial real-time messaging and electronic communications - including web-based 'sametime' working at the desktop - between officials.

Taken forward

• Supplement the proposed modernisation and improvement in working practices with a robust and well-researched policy framework for knowledge management in the UK Government.

Taken forward

• Conduct an international benchmarking and comparator research study of trends, capability and activity in knowledge management by overseas governments and public sector bodies.

Taken forward

Recommendation 21

Action

Continue to drive forward e-procurement and e-tendering

• Run innovative pilot e-procurement projects.

Completed

Recommendation 22

Action

Implement a strategy to make the UK the number one for the supply of high-level ITEC skills

• Invest at least £8 million to drive forward the ITEC skills strategy.

Taken forward

• Facilitate links between the ITEC sector, universities and other sectors of the economy.

Completed

• Co-ordinate community-based IT access and skills initiatives at national, regional and local level, working with e-Minister, e-Envoy and local DCMS Ministers.

Taken forward

• Encourage Government Offices in England and Wales to co-ordinate implementation of these initiatives at local and regional level, reporting on progress to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (PUS) every six months.

Taken forward

• Implement a strategy to make the UK the number one for the supply of high-level ITEC skills.

Subsumed

Recommendation 23

Action

Implement an action plan for growth for the digital content sector, including through liberalised access to Government information

• Work with industry to implement the action plan, reviewing progress with the Digital Content Forum.

Taken forward

• Public information made available in digital form.

Taken forward

Recommendation 24

Action

Secure international agreement to a common framework for measuring e-commerce

• Agree a core set of common questions.

Taken forward

Recommendation 25

Action

Improve e-commerce measurement in the UK

• Improve measurement of Government use.

Taken forward

• Improve measurement of ITEC sectors.

Taken forward

• Improve measurement of telecoms/Internet access costs.

Taken forward

Recommendation 26

Action

Implement a programme to evaluate the net economic impact of e-commerce

• Undertake the first economic impact study of e-commerce.

Taken forward