English Local Authorities make a success of the National eService Delivery Standards (NeSDS) –

Over 50% of Local Authorities have had direct involvement in creation of the eService Delivery Standards

200 Local Authorities have now been actively involved in the creation of the eService Delivery Standards through direct participation in the steering groups or facilitation workshops – they have been the key to the shape and content of the eService standards.

Authority Involvement in eService Delivery Standards
Type of authority	Total	Total involved in standards	Percentage adopting
County Councils	34	29	85
London Borough Councils	33	31	94
Metropolitan Authorities	36	33	92
Unitary Authorities	47	22	47
District Councils	238	83	35
Total	338	198	51
Other Organisations	59

The e-Service Delivery Standards have been specifically designed to provide a comprehensive benchmark against which the current level of e-enablement in a local authority can be assessed and will form a fundamental building block for improving the delivery of e-services. They show what a best practice local authority department should look like, how it should work, what employee roles it requires and the work processes it needs.

Local Authorities who adopt the Standards will be able to identify where to start in moving towards the delivery of more efficient services, thereby determining how much progress they have made to date. They can see what ‘excellent’ services look like and how far they have to go in order to achieve the delivery of an ‘excellent’ service. This therefore provides an opportunity to prioritise services, allowing them to focus their effort and resources on achieving the improvements needed for the priority outcomes, Gershon Agenda, IEG and CPA.

Stephen Evans, CEO of Havering LBC – which is leading the NeSDS programme – said "I would like to thank local authorities and professional bodies for their enthusiastic support. Their input has been invaluable and will ensure confidence in a programme that will deliver enormous benefits to us and our customers."

For general information visit our website at www.nesds.gov.uk or contact the programme coordinator on nesds@havering.gov.uk

For press information contact Pax Consultancy on paxconsultancy@btinternet.com, 07958 788 555

Notes for editors –

The National eService Delivery Standards (NeSDS) is led by Havering LBC and funded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Each set of standards will contain one or more levels, from Minimum, through Good to Excellent. The Minimum standard reflects the standard required to meet the 2005 target for delivering services electronically set by BVPI 157 and the Priority Service Outcomes).

The e-standards will provide assistance, guidance and consistency of approach for Local Authority heads of service in meeting their obligations under the Priority Service Outcome deadlines. They will set out a series of definitions in each service area based on the performance level targets set in the Priority Service Outcomes and will complement the work recently set out in the Government Connect Framework Prospectus for joining up government.

Professional bodies involved have included ACES, ADSS,ALG,Audit Commission, CIEH , CIH, CIPFA IPF, Connecting for Health London, COPROP, CPRE ,CSCI ,Department of Health ,DSA, EMRLGA, EoERA, EETSA, Employers' Organisation for Local Government, Environment Agency, GO for West Midland, GO for London, Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority, Heritage Care, Housemark, IDeA ,IHT, Institute for Employment Studies, Jobs go Public, Kensington and Chelsea - Tenant Management Organisation, LABC, LEGSB, LGA, Local Government Management Board for Yorkshire and Humberside, London Housing Study Group, Metropolitan Police Service, National Federation of ALMOs , North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Health Authority, Northern Housing Consortium ,Planning Inspectorate, Planning Officers' Society, RICS, RTPI SETSA, SOCPO, SOCITM, SOLAM, South East England Employers Organisation, Treesource (York),TSI,WMLGA