eGovernment

E-government is a fairly new concept; it has been on the rise for the last 10 years. E-Government is basically the use of the internet for government, public sector and local authorities. Most of the big countries in the world have their own e-government website. One of the main benefits of e-government is it allows the majority of people to have a say in what ever they wish. The main topics that I will talk about in this blog post will be online petitions, NHS Direct, Online taxes and statistics.

E-Petitions

E-petitions or online petitions allow anyone to vote on a current petition, my local authority have they own website for online petitions; you have features where you can create your own petition and search through previous petitions that have been put forward. The e-petitions on Kent county council website can be signed by anyone that lives in Kent, so we all get an equal say and can only sign a certain petition once. Once the petition reaches enough signatures a full debate will be held in the town hall, and a bonus is that you can watch all the debates online after they have been held.

Advantages

• Everyone can have an equal say
• Saves going down to your town hall and voting
• Can watch them online after
• Saves paper as it all done online

Disadvantages

• People who do not live in that county can still go on the website and vote
• Not all people have access to the Internet
• Usually have to sign up and make an account

In my opinion I once signed an online petition through my county council’s website, it was a relatively easy task to make an account and sign it. If it was not online it probably would not of got enough of signatures because the majority of signatures were 16-19 year olds signing for a Kent Freedom pass which allows free bus travel throughout the whole of Kent.

NHS Direct

NHS Direct is a government hosted website which ultimately allows you to diagnose illnesses yourself rather than go to your doctor. The main features of this website is a Symptom Checker but it also offers to check your sexual heath, find your nearest GP, Pharmacy, Dentist or A & E just by entering your postcode!  You can also apply for jobs on their website which is a great paper saver!

Advantages

• Can diagnose a symptom online rather than going to GP
• Saves Time
• Very easy

Disadvantages

• Not 100% accurate with no doctor
• Relies on your information which could be inaccurate
• Could lead to miss-diagnosis

In my personal experience I have only used the Symptom checker once, and it delivered 100% accurate information and saved me from going to the doctors. In my opinion this is on of the main bonuses of the NHS direct website.

Statistics

With all the government websites out there you can find numerous different statistics for different things. On the police UK website you can type in your postcode and it will show you all the different crimes in your area and what they have been for. It will also show up a map of your area with it, here is a screen shot from my area off the Police UK website.

As you can see it shows the different crimes and where about they were committed. There is also a website called yougov.co.uk which is packed full of different statistics; mainly surveys and questionnaires on topics such as CCTV in our world. Here is a table from the website. 

Advantages

• Can easily find information about your area
• You know that the information will be reliable
• Lots and lots of different statistics

Disadvantages

• May not include up to date facts and figures

In my personal experience I have never used online statistics for my area, but that’s because I did not know about it. Now I do know I will probably check the statistics for my area about once month to see if they have risen or not.

Online Benefits and taxes

Online benefits and taxes are a great idea from the government simply because its a lot easier for people nowadays! The Directgov website is jammed full of information about online benefits and taxes so you can see if your entitled/worthy of them before you start to apply.

Advantages

• Much easier to apply online
• A lot quicker online
• Lots more information available online
• Saves paper

Disadvantages

• Must have an computer, not all people do
• Still time consuming although quicker than filling out paper forms

I personally have not used it because I’m still at school, but I’m sure it works a charm for people who do use it!