17. To make online services and information easier to find, as well as assure the quality of government websites, the Cabinet Office and the Central Office for Information are reducing significantly the number of websites. Some 951 sites have been identified for closure and 90 have already been closed. They are also moving most citizen- and business-facing services and related information on to two websites: Direct.gov.uk and businesslink.gov.uk.[35] Transferring key government services and large amounts of information, whilst at the same time upgrading and reconfiguring them, is a complex and ambitious programme and the Cabinet Office does not expect to complete the work until 2011.[36] Departments and agencies will still have their own websites, but these will be small, and dedicated to providing policy and departmental information.

18. Both Direct.gov.uk and businesslink.gov.uk are now established and well regarded by the public and business. Direct.gov.uk alone has over five million visitors a month and both sites have good reliability records. The site businesslink.gov.uk was available for use 99.99% of the time in 2007 and Direct.gov.uk 98% of the time in late 2006 and early 2007. Both sites comply with the government's accessibility standards and both have won awards.[37] To make information as easy to access as possible, Direct.gov.uk aims to present it in a format that is designed around the needs of users and structured around 'life events' such as education and learning, motoring and employment, and other subjects such as health and wellbeing and rights and responsibilities.[38]

19. As part of moving the existing content of sites to either Direct.gov.uk or businesslink.gov.uk, all services and related information will be reviewed and redesigned to meet the required standards and structure of these two main sites. One risk to the delivery of this programme is the capacity of the Direct.gov.uk team, which is smaller than that running other large websites such as the BBC website. There is a risk that this could lead to a reliance on external consultants.[39]

20. In 2007, ownership of businesslink.gov.uk was transferred to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and, from April 2008, Direct.gov.uk will be based with the Department for Work and Pensions. The total annual budget for Direct.gov.uk in each year over the period of the Comprehensive Spending Review is up to £30 million. For the last four years, departments have contributed to the funding of Direct.gov.uk, but the majority of costs will, from April 2008, be met from this central budget as part of the Service Transformation Agreement under the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review. Departments will still fund from their own resources the development and maintenance of services and related information around the different life events and subjects that make up the structure of Direct.gov.uk and businesslink.gov.uk.

36   Qq 9, 15, 21, 24, 53 Back

37   Qq 27, 44 Back

38   Qq 24, 27, 55, 49 Back

39   Qq 15, 39, 51 Back