Finding official British Information: Official Publishing in the Digital Age

By Jane Inman and Howard Picton

Examining the different bodies that publish official material, this book describes the types of material published, how it is made available and how it is recorded. Finding Official British Information focuses on the digital availability of official information and considers how much is now freely available on the web and how to locate it as well as addressing issues of web only publishing. It covers public bodies in the UK and includes publications issued by central and local government as well as the devolved assemblies and the many other organisations that issue official publications.

• Quick ‘how to find’ section for each area
• Designed for the non-specialist
• Covering central and local government, the devolved assemblies and other public bodies in the UK

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Release date: Dec 20, 2011
• ISBN: 9781780632926

Jane Inman

Jane Inman is Communications and Information Manager for the Environment and Economy Directorate, Warwickshire County Council. She is also Chair of the Affiliation of Local Government Information Specialists and serves on the Standing Committee on Official Publications. She writes a regular column on official publishing and contributes material to other publications.

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The digital environment

What is the digital age?

Was there really in any significant sense a Railway Age? If there was, when did it begin? Who was responsible for creating it? Has it left any permanent and recognizable mark on the landscape? Has human society been affected by it? Have politics and the map of the world been changed because of it? Is there something about the railway that made it characteristic of an age and significant above, or along with, other influences at work in its day? Are we still living in a railway age or has it ended?

(Robbins, 1962)

There have been many publications referring to the ‘digital age’ but not many that choose to define the term. There have been various periods, dubbed ‘ages’, after the event (the space age being an exception), referring to periods when a particular innovation transformed society. Even now, arguments will rage over whether a particular ‘age’ ever existed, and when it began. And, if we have the temerity to attempt to label a period the ‘digital age’ before it seems hardly to have begun, we should bear Robbins’ questions in mind. It appears to us that with regard to a digital age, we could answer affirmatively many of Robbins’ questions.

So, for the purposes of this book, the ‘digital age’ will be defined as a period when digital technology proved capable of transforming all aspects of our society through computers, networking and communication devices. One might argue when precisely this ‘age’ began (with the invention of the computer? with the invention of the Internet? or when the Internet became a popular medium?) and obviously, we are only at the beginning of this ‘age’. It would be rash to predict how long it may last (perhaps ‘ages’ are becoming shorter as innovation increases apace) but transformation of everyday life has already happened, particularly in the field of communication.

Digital availability has had a bigger impact on official publishing than in other areas because official publications were always, for the most part, little publicised and an unknown quantity to the general public. With the development of the Internet this has now changed and access is more widespread than before, although perhaps public understanding of the nature of official publications is no better than in the days of print.

With the first government websites appearing in 1995 we are still not 20 years into the digital age as far as official publications and information are concerned. Developments in the technology and its uses will continue to change the way we access official information but it is fair to say that the exploitation of the available technology has already had a substantial impact on the way we access and use official information.

E-government

Much of the drive to ensure that official information was made available electronically came in the form of e-government targets set by the government through the early part of the twenty-first century. Most of the targets focused on the provision of web-based information but the available technologies have now expanded so in any discussion of digital information sources we must now include digital TV and information provided through kiosks and plasma or LCD screens. Within this environment there are a number of other electronic tools which are being used to make information easier to access and use such as webcasts, podcasts, blogs and RSS feeds. It can be argued that call centres or customer service centres should be included here as they use electronic technology to communicate with the citizen and give access to information, and indeed the government included them within the definition of e-government.

The websites of official bodies have undergone numerous changes since they were first launched in the mid-1990s but many are still subject to criticism. Much of the drive now comes from the customer who has become used to 24-hour access to information and services from commercial organisations and is demanding the same level of service from local government, central government and other public bodies.

Beyond information – other services

Of course, websites do not just offer an alternative to publications but access to interactive services from official bodies as well. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), for example, has had huge success with the introduction of online purchasing of car tax discs. Launched in January 2006, the service was being used by a third of vehicle owners within 18 months and at peak times handling as many as 86,000 hits a day. The service offers the vehicle owner the chance to purchase the tax disc online at their own convenience without the need to go to the Post Office and without being limited to normal Post Office opening hours.

This is not at first sight the concern of this book but the other major advantage of this particular service is that details of MOTs and insurance are checked electronically, removing the need to locate the paper copies. This is therefore an example of an innovative use of information brought together to provide an improved customer service.

Not only does this offer choice to the customer but, as Sir David Varney identified in his report Service Transformation in 2006, it is also a way for public sector organisations to make savings. Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government issued by the Labour government towards the end of 2009 continued the theme of driving savings and community and citizen engagement and involvement through improved digital access to services and to information. The Coalition government has continued this process via its own Efficiency and Reform programme and Transparency Agenda.

The drive for the public sector to provide information and services electronically is not just that it is a better service for the customer but that it also saves the organisation money. Figures published by SOCITM (Society of Information Technology Management) show the relative costs of providing information and services as:

Face to face £7.20 per visit

Phone £2.90 per call

Web 0.32p per visitor

(SOCITM, Insight (January 2011))

The Coalition government announced in October 2010 that it intended to make ‘online’ the default model for access to some government services. Francis Maude MP in announcing this ambition pointed out that 96 per cent of 25–34 year olds are Internet users but only 13 per cent of Government contact with citizens is