E-Government

What is E-Government?

E- Government is a commonly used type of an Online Service; E-government is the interaction between a citizen and their government, between governments and government agencies and between government and businesses. Before E-Government citizens would normally only interact with the government when electing a new prime minister, this would be the only chance they had to have a part in the decisions made in parliament. Most interaction would also be in paper work form and in arranged meetings, taking up a lot of people’s time and costing the government a lot of money to maintain their services.

Types of E-Government: 

The most common way that the average citizen now interacts with the government through E-Government would be being able to pay for all of their taxes online instead of having to go to the post office etc. Quite recently the way that we pay for road tax has changed, until now people would have to display a tax disc which would be proof to the police that they have paid for their road tax if they are stopped. Now you pay for your road tax online, and the police can see if you have paid for your tax electronically before you are even stopped, making it more of an efficient system for the police and stopping people from getting out of paying their taxes.

Another way we can connect with the government through E-government is your own town council website. On these websites you can do various things, such as:  looking for jobs, benefit information and the taxes that you have to pay. You are also able to pay your taxes over your town council’s website. You are also now able to make a vote online, the reason for this was to increase the voter turnout by making voting easy, so a wider range of people voted.

The government have used their internet communication to make their administration more efficient and easier for people to use. They have firstly used it to cut the costs of their output, like sending letters, leaflets etc. It has also meant that they now have more time, as they do not have to print out letters and prepare them to be sent out. They also use the internet to improve their online services allowing them to control and record their performances and improve communication directly with citizens and to business’s.

 The government also uses the internet to communicate with the public and to listen to problems people may have and possibly make a change. They use the internet to make the relationship between the government and the people more personal and give the people more of a voice in parliament and with the current issues. The government have created a website (http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/) where citizens are able to post petitions to attract people to sign them and get involved with their campaigns, they need 500,000 people to sign their petition in the time it is open, for it to get recognised by the government. If enough people sign the petition the government have to consider an action that they could do. However around election time, the E-Petitions are closed so that Parliament can prepare for elections. Political parties also have their own websites on which they talk about the type of work they do, what they believe in and why you should vote for them. The government has also set up websites to help those looking for jobs and are interested in getting more qualifications or finding out about their taxes and benefits they may be liable for.

The Government is also working to connect with businesses allowing them to license their businesses online, with no paper work. They just have to fill in a form which requires them to give the government their financial status and to give them all the legal requirements that they need. They will have to pay a fee, but they do not have to post any information to the head office and are able to do it all electronically.

Another feature of E-Government is the crime maps which allow you to search for your area and see what type of crime has been committed near you. This is a great way for the government to connect with the people and give them more added protection, security and information . It can help people decide the location they wish to live in and can help people to be aware of where they are living. The maps have a key and they people looking at the maps can see the types of crimes in their area. 

Scopes of E-Government

• It is more convenient for users; it is a lot easier for a person to pay their taxes or to see if they are liable for benefits by sitting at their computer than having to go to an appointment to wait in line for someone to deal with your case.

• Cutting costs for the government as they do not have to rent offices or build new ones to allocate those who will deal with the cases, they also do not have to employ so many people thus a virtual agency is cheaper for them.

• Greater transparency of the service provided by the government.

Limitations of E-Government

• Some people may not like to pay their bills online or deal with taxes over the internet and may prefer doing it in person so no mistakes can be made

• Some may not know how to use the online services and may not trust them.

• Websites are still liable to hackers putting people’s personal information at risk despite their efforts to protect users.

• Less developed countries do not have enough money to invest in online Government; Internet is also required which can limit the amount of users.

 My Experience with E-Government

Due to my age I have had hardly any experience with E-Government, however I have used the E-Petition website to sign petitions I feel passionate about and support, I strongly believe in the public having a voice in the government and the website allows people to do this. Furthermore my parents have a lot of interaction with E-Government as they pay their taxes online and often look at what is going on in the local council via the internet. I think it is a very efficient way to connect with the government and saves the average citizen lots of time.