Digital government services delivering for citizens

Citizens have called for the government to build on its digital services by providing the likes of online election voting, according to a new poll from Gemserv.

The poll of 2,000 people across the UK examined attitudes towards accessing digital government services two years after the first UK enforced lockdown following the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It found that 60 per cent of citizens were satisfied or very satisfied the last time they used online services provided by a central government department, such as HRMC, DVLA or the Foreign Office. A further 71 per cent now feel confident accessing government information and services online.
 
When asked how in the next two years citizens would most prefer to access services, online (web or app based) interactions dominated over face-to-face or phone-based services. Nearly half of respondents (44 per cent) even called for the government to launch online general election voting, with DVLA services (59 per cent), passport applications (59 per cent) and applications for benefits of financial support (47 per cent) all called out for digital expansion.

While demand for increased digital services is clear, confidence is mixed when it comes to ensuring the government keeps personal data secure. Only 53 per cent said they are confident in the government to safeguard their data, with 27 per cent reporting they were neither confident or unconfident and a further 15 per cent reporting feeling unconfident.

Trevor Hutchings, director of strategy, communications and public sector at Gemserv, said: “The quality and number of online government services is already revolutionising the way citizens engage with the government and the services it provides, making services quicker and easier to access. This suggests the gov.uk approach of prioritising clarity and ease of use for services is clearly paying dividends - and has the potential to remove the bureaucracy from routine interactions using government services.

“Such confidence and satisfaction with services has created demands for government to do more – but there are warnings here, too. There are clear concerns when it comes to the government’s perceived ability to secure personal data. Getting this right is crucial, not just for the obvious legal and regulatory requirements, but to deliver on the promise of more and better online services. Government must ensure that as services expand, public trust in how these services use and process their data grows with them.”