Life is already getting easier because of eGov

Friday 08 January 2016

Islanders are already having to spend less time traipsing between States departments to do paperwork because the States’ new eGov programme is doing the work for them.

Big changes to the processes for registering as a new resident, setting up a business or notifying the States of a birth or death have already been made, and the States say that it has already saved time for thousands of people.

The eGov programme was placed on hold at the start of last year after delays with the procurement process, but work has been picking up again over the last few months and is starting to deliver benefits.

Already, data about empty parking spaces is being published through the media and plans are afoot for much more progress this year.

In an update blog on the www.gov.je website, the eGov programme team have revealed that in 2015:

- A quicker process for registering new residents has saved 3,000 people a trip to the taxes office by automatically passing on information from Social Security, and the same data is also being shared with the hospital so that people are placed on Health’s records in case they are referred to consultants or have to go to A&E.

- Around 500 new businesses setting up as sole traders and partnerships have benefitted from a streamlined process that enables them to request a licence to trade and register a business name, register with the tax office, and register as an employer all in one go. That new process is going to be extended to limited companies in the next phase of the work.

- Since September, almost 300 new parents have been saved having to take a trip to Social Security to register their children, by sharing data provided to the Parish Registrars.

- Work to stop people having to go through the distress of receiving messages to recently deceased family members has also progressed, after a project to make sure that all departments know when someone has died. The work has involved combining the work of the mortuary, GPs, funeral directors, Social Security, parish registrars and the Office of the Superintendent Registrar.