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Latest report shows transformational government has brought major improvements to public services

16 July 2008
CAB/081/08

The Cabinet Office today published its latest report highlighting how and where people are benefiting from work across Government to transform our public services for the better.

The Transformational Government Annual Report shines a light on progress made in ensuring our public services are always designed and delivered around the needs of the user.

The report reflects improvements in:

Website rationalisation: another 712 government websites have been earmarked for closure – bringing the total to more than 900 since 2006 and making it easier for people to find the information they want and need online.

Shared services: more than half of all Government employees are now customers of shared corporate services – saving money and freeing up staff to concentrate on delivering world-class public services.

Customer satisfaction: the new Customer Service Excellence standard to embed best practice across the public sector and new guidelines on measuring customer satisfaction has been published.

Her Majesty's Government Chief Information Officer, John Suffolk, said:

“It is only two and a half years since we launched the Transformational Government Strategy and in that time we have done a significant amount to improve / made significant progress in improving public services.

“The number of people renewing their car tax online has now passed the 10 million mark, making life easier for motorists across Britain. Every school and university in the country has a broadband internet connection. Millions of patients now benefit from safer, faster and better experiences in healthcare as hospital X-rays move into the digital age.

“The Public Sector Flex shared service framework has already been adopted by four organisations, including two Whitehall departments, potentially saving millions of pounds a year.

“The Government IT Profession already has more than 10,000 members, while in its first year the Technology in Business Fast Stream attracted almost 70 applications for every place available, ensuring Britain's brightest graduates are given all the training they need to be the next generation of Government Chief Information Officers.

“It has been a challenging year for everyone involved in Government IT, but this report shows that we are making real progress towards achieving our aims and gives us a solid foundation for further improvements over the upcoming months.”

The initial Transformational Government Strategy was published in 2005 and this is the second progress report published by the Cabinet Office.

Notes to editors

1. This report covers the period from January 2007 to January 2008.
2. The full report is available for download from www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
3. To align with the STA reporting cycle, the next annual report will be published in the spring of 2009.

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