MPs call for intervention on number of sites

Out of control, says report

MPs have accused the government of letting enthusiasm for web-based services run out of control.

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the number of government sites has soared to more than 2,000 at an annual cost of more than £200m, and wants the Cabinet Office to be able to veto new web sites.

A migration of services to Direct.gov.uk and Businesslink.gov.uk under the management of the Department for Work and Pensions is already planned.

The National Audit Office has previously warned that more than a quarter of government departments have no idea how much their web sites cost, and 16 per cent have no data on how they are used.

“Overall, the quality of web sites has improved only slightly since 2002, and a third do not meet the Cabinet Office’s own user accessibility standards,” said PAC chairman Edward Leigh.

A thousand sites face the axe. “The government’s enthusiastic embrace of web-delivered services is not matched by a commensurate level of understanding of what it is achieving through its web sites,” said Leigh.