News

English city ahead of schedule in establishing e-government for residents

April 18, 2004

NEWCASTLE, England-E-government has arrived in Newcastle.

ComputerWeekly.com reported the Newcastle City Council now provides electronic access to all city services, 21 months ahead of a compliance schedule set by Prime Minister Tony Blair.

All of Newcastle's official forms are now available online, including planning applications, housing benefit and council tax benefit claims, as well as school admission and transfer applications.

Local residents can access services using Newcastle's website, over the phone by officers operating back-office electronic systems and via public access terminals in libraries or kiosks in public places. "We see this as just the start, a phase in the overall project," said Newcastle official Fred Stephen. "Although we have proper e-government systems in most cases, a few areas only have electronic forms. The intention is to fully automate the systems over the next 12 months."