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A recent study by the National Audit Office has highlighted that many government websites are still too complicated and difficult to use. While services like online road tax renewal are very popular, other sites such as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), are too complex. The average central government site had 17,000 pages - roughly equivalent to that of a large department store - yet most of their search engines "often fail to work satisfactorily", the report said.

In January the government announced plans to close at least 551 of 951 websites, in order to streamline services through its "super sites" such as DirectGov and Business Link.

On the face of things, local authority websites appear to be very popular - with 180m visitors a year. But the UK lags far behind the rest of Europe, with only 24% of the populace using UK government sites, compared to more than 50% in Sweden and Iceland. Even Estonia and Slovakia fare better than the UK.

Most people only knew of a few key sites and tended to use "transactional services" once or twice a year - like filing income tax returns or renewing their car tax.

A worrying statistic is that up to a third of government websites may not meet standards for disabled or visually impaired people. 

NAO head Sir John Bourn said progress had been made in getting more information on the internet, but "little improvement" had been made in information held on the cost and use of websites.

"Departments need to focus on understanding the cost effectiveness of their websites and who uses them and why, so that they can better meet the needs of citizens."

© Amatica 19/07/2007