A report has hailed Scotland as having the best council websites in the UK, but has warned against complacency when it comes to updating them.
The research, commissioned by eGovernment solution specialist Consilium, examined all 32 Scottish council websites across the criteria of design, content and interactivity. It also examined the online technology being put in place in order to meet the Government’s 2005 deadline for electronic delivery of council services; 84 per cent of the sites scored highly for their content, while the majority of sites were let down in other categories.
Despite containing the largest wealth of information on their sites, Scottish councils were also found to be the least motivated in terms of introducing eGovernment services in the future.
Peter McHugh, business development director at Consilium, said: “While many councils are good at providing information on their websites, the acid test is how they facilitate interaction with the public. Unless Scottish councils address this area they run the danger of falling behind their counterparts in other UK regions.”