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PRIME MINISTER Report from the e-Minister and
e-Envoy - 4th February 2002 Introduction It is now two months since we published our 2001 Annual Report, setting out the Government’s strategy for getting the UK online. The Annual Report contains a new action plan, but does include those actions carried forward from last year. A full assessment of the progress that had been made since our last monthly report was also contained in the Annual Report. A detailed progress report on each of the commitments made in the Report is, as usual, being published on our website at www.e-envoy.gov.uk. This shows that of the 113 commitments announced, 108 are on track, 5 completed, and none are behind schedule. Again, we focus on just a few issues in this monthly report. This report covers the following issues: launch of new ukonline.gov.uk site; ukonline campaign; broadband; universal access and e-democracy. ukonline.gov.uk On 21 January, visitors to ukonline.gov.uk saw a dramatic change to the site. Based on feedback obtained since the original site went live, ukonline.gov.uk has been improved to become more intuitive, and easier to navigate and search. Alongside these developments in usability, the site’s accessibility has been significantly improved. ukonline.gov.uk is the first public body site to be awarded the RNIB’s ‘See it Right’ accreditation, and its Easy Access channel becomes one of only four sites in the UK to meet the W3C ‘AA’ level accessibility standard. The new infrastructure has improved scalability which will allow us to host content for other Government departments. The Office of the e-Envoy will be the first to use it. This facility gives us the capability to quickly bring common navigation and converging look and feel to the Government’s current web offering. ukonline.gov.uk is the basis of a digital offering that we will be rolling out across DiTV, mobile and other digital channels. It is a world-leading product delivered on a new and scaleable infrastructure. UK online Campaign The UK online campaign started in November 2001 with the “Let’s All Get On” TV advertisement, media-relations activity, and also partner activity with Abbey National and Age Concern. The first tracking results from the UK online campaign show that we have had a very encouraging start but there is still a lot to do. The data covers the period to December 2001 which includes the first burst of advertising in November. The study showed that prompted awareness of UK online has risen to 45% of the population, up from 33% a year ago. There has been a significant increase in understanding, with 40% of the population now aware of UK online as a national campaign to enable everyone to make the most out of the Internet. However, spontaneous awareness remains low at around 3%, emphasising the need for continued effort in an area where 46% of people say that they are simply not interested in the Internet. Additionally, the responses received at the call centre, via interactive TV and website were ahead of expectations, indicating the public need for motivating information about the Internet. By the beginning of January, over 70,000 people had requested further information, many of whom were directed to their local UK online centre. The campaign also represents two new Government initiatives: in November, the UK online campaign was the first Government campaign to use Sky's Active platform; and in January, the TV burst has seen UK online as the first brand (including commercial companies) to trial Sky's new Interactive service, where customers are able to dial up the Internet directly from their TV. Broadband Broadband services remain vital to Government’s objectives for transforming public services, improving private sector performance and achieving social equity. The UK is already one of the most connected economies - levels of Internet use and e-commerce are amongst the highest in the world. The challenge now is to build on this success for broadband. Approximately 66% of the population now have access to affordable broadband services, and the most recent figures for DSL and Cable take-up show rapid year on year growth of 435% and 590% respectively. Despite these successes we still face two major challenges: low take-up - where the infrastructure is in place, and parts of the country, particularly those in rural and remote areas, where there is none. We are taking action to advance Broadband Britain on both these fronts. Some recent successes include: the launch of BT’s Wholesale self-install broadband service, which is expected to result in significant cost savings for consumers; and the launch of OGC’s broadband procurement project, which will examine how we can both improve value for money and impact the availability of broadband. Universal Access Providing Internet access to all those who want it remains a high priority. A substantial network of community Internet access points has been established to support this goal. Well over 2100 UK online centres are now operating and we are on track to deliver 6000 centres by the end of the year, when all libraries will also be online. Our research suggests that by the end of 2002, almost 99% of households in England will be within 5 miles of a public Internet access point and 78% within 1 mile. In November of last year, we reviewed progress towards the 2005 universal access target and identified three key priorities for our future strategy. We need to work to integrate all Internet access initiatives into one single user-focused programme; to sustain and improve the range and quality of services offered; and to support a national and local marketing campaign which will motivate Internet use and sign-post non users to UK online and e-Government services. We are presently working across Government bringing these initiatives together. We are also looking at how we can work with other sectors to achieve our universal access goals. The voluntary and community sector organisations are key intermediaries in delivering services to UK citizens. On 29 November, we released groundbreaking research which looked at the sector’s existing ICT capacity and needs and are discussing the findings of the report with the sector to identify priorities. The report is available at www.e-envoy.gov.uk/publications/reports/e-enabling/index.htm. e-Democracy Following the creation of the Cabinet Committee on e-democracy, policy proposals on how to strengthen the democratic process through the use of the Internet and other electronic means are being developed. The policy proposals will be subject to a wide public consultation later this year.
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