Gov fails to have knowledge of itself on websites

The Cabinet Office has missed a key deadline for the release of information on the number of central government websites in operation.

In its structural reform plan progress report (4-page PDF/106KB) for May, the department said that an annual report on websites, including the relevant information, will now be published at the end of June.

Last year Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude revealed plans to step up the drive to reduce the number of government websites. The rationalisation was originally announced by the previous government in 2005, but the Coalition has said that only limited progress was made in reducing the number.

The report also reveals that the Cabinet Office has set a deadline of the end of this year for the creation of the Public Data Corporation. It says it will "support" the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and HM Treasury in setting up the organisation. The aim of the corporation is to bring together data from government bodies into one organisation.

The majority of projects listed in the progress plan are still ongoing. This includes setting up centralised cross-government contracts for all procurement categories and the creation of a more efficient sourcing process for government procurement, which is expected to be completed by December 2011.

A number of projects have also been completed successfully, according to the document. These include a review of websites for decommissioning and the completion of the first version of a cross-departmental asset register.

This article was originally published at Guardian Government Computing.

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