E‐government: the realities of using IT to transform the public sector

This paper examines how electronic government is being used in the delivery and improvement of public services in the UK, and the actual and potential problems inherent in this. Although there have been examples of very creative use of electronic government in the public sector, there have also been numerous spectacular failures. This paper highlights a number of problematic issues surrounding its use. These include the fact that government's two central aims, namely high quality customer service and value‐for‐money, could potentially be in conflict; and the lack of evidence to support the claim that the use of technology in service delivery results in less bureaucracy and increased quality. Clearly these tensions and issues need to be much more fully explored so that a “government for people” can be created. The paper concludes by posing the question: Can e‐government produce truly innovative, responsive public services, or merely exacerbate electronically, existing shortcomings?