The London Borough of Havering - Providing more online services to its Citizens

The UK is among the top countries in Europe at providing public services online, and an increasing number of people are using the web to perform all sorts of transactions.

Local authorities need to provide more and more of their services online so that customers can deal with their councils at a time of their own choosing. To make these services really efficient and up-to-date they need to be able to carry out financial transactions.

Transactional websites, as they are known, enable people to pay council tax, book facilities, make instant reports on such matters as noisy neighbours or abandoned vehicles, along with many other services.

The London Borough of Havering has an excellent transactional website www.havering.gov.uk- in fact it is one of the top 20 sites in 2006, according to reviewers from the Society of Information Technology Management (Socitm).

The Society selected the top 20 in order to 'provide a broad benchmark to the local government community and others about where they might look for good practice'. The Havering website was given the highest rating for its number of elements including news value, ease of navigation and links to other sites.

The Borough of Havering site offers a number of transactional services, including:

• Paying council tax online
• Checking progress of planning applications
• Contract opportunities
• How to do business with the council
• Applications for school places

GOSS supplied and hosts the iCM (Intelligent Content Management) software that the London Borough of Havering's website uses. The iCM software, developed by GOSS, has helped Havering meet the Government's e-strategy target of 100 per cent electronic delivery of priority services.

GOSS offers a purpose-built system designed specifically for local government transactional requirements. This system allows secure transactional and payment processing, integrates seamlessly with the Government Gateway, and complies fully with government authentication requirements.

GOSS delivers joined-up government by merging effortlessly with back office and other systems. It is secure and protected, and can be managed across multiple departments. It meets WC3 standards and provides a framework for compliance with industry standards such as data protection, freedom of information, and the Disability Discrimination Act.

iCM's powerful analysis components mean that people returning to the site will have their existing content remembered enabling faster transactions.

For a truly transactional website look no further than GOSS. We are one of the biggest content management providers in England and Wales, and our systems have been adopted by one in six local authorities.