9th March 2007, 07/83
King of the web
We're king of the web according to the results of a prestigious
local government website survey!
West Lancashire District Council's website has been ranked the
best out of all district council websites across the country.
The fantastic results come from the annual national survey of local
government websites, 'Better Connected', carried out by Socitm (the
Society of IT Managers).
What Socitim said about our site was..."Much the best of the
Lancashire sites. Well designed, very easy to use even when there
is a lot of information. Excellent search engine and a
comprehensive A to Z."
Features that were singled out for good practice included our Chief
Executive's weekly video blog, the search engine, easy to use
format, and for giving lots of information.
These latest results of the survey are a reflection of all the
improvements that have been made to enhance the website and make it
even easier for customers to use the website to access our
services.
Cllr Adrian Owens, Portfolio Holder for e-government, said: "We are
over the moon with the results of the Socitim survey because it is
a reflection of all our hard work. We have invested a lot in our
website because we know that people lead busy lives and use the
internet because it's a quick, cheap, easy and convenient way of
doing business with the Council. This is why we are providing lots
of services online and are constantly adding new information so
that our residents can contact us in the comfort of their own home,
24 hours a day, 7 days a week."
In 2004 West Lancashire's website was categorised as average, but
in the space of three years it has gone from strength to
strength.
Cllr Geoff M. Roberts, Leader of the Council, added: "Each year our
website is improving, which is reflected in our glowing ranking.
Now, we are the best district council in the country and next year
I'm confident that we could be the best out of all councils because
we have a number of exciting initiatives planned to make our
website better than ever before."
Users can do everything on the web from paying bills, make planning
applications or apply for jobs to reporting fly-tipping, dog
fouling or refuse problems. They can also ask a question, catch the
latest Council news and search for any other useful information,
watch the Chief Exec's weekly web cast and even exchange
properties. Only recently the results of our 'People's Panel'
survey also showed that the way customers are contacting the
Council is changing. According to the figures, the number of people
who prefer to contact the Council via the web is up from 6% to
20%.
Internet access
You can get free Internet access at local libraries and the
Council's four Community Resource Centres in Skelmersdale, which
are:
· Birch Green Hall, Hartland, 01695 733080
· Digmoor Community Centre, Birleywood, 01695 727483
· Tanhouse Community Centre, Ennerdale, 01695 720128
· The Greenhill, Beech Close, 01695 558869
Notes about Socitm
The Better Connected survey is carried out by a team of reviewers
who visit all 468 local authority sites. Using a structured
questionnaire with 93 questions, the reviewers assess how well each
website performs on:
· website content and currency
· the quality and availability of interactive applications (e.g.
making payments or bookings and reporting information)
· usability of the website such as search functions, A to Z
lists
· accessibility to users with physical and mental impairments
· how well the website 'joins-up' with other public services
This 'mystery shopping' exercise is supplemented by a number of
separate surveys conducted with members of the Better Connected
review team and a series of partner organisations.
On the basis of these various tests, local authority websites are
ranked on a new three level rating scale - excellent, transactional
and standard.
Related information
> Council
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