Local authority websites have shown ‘progress’ in the presentation of information and services on mobile devices about children's services, ICT body reveals.
Socitm’s latest Better Connected survey tested how easy it was to find childcare information on council websites using mobile phones.
Over half (52%) of the councils tested were assessed as providing a ‘good’ or ‘very good’ service for the task. This included all 206 UK councils with responsibilities for children’s services.
A number of councils recommended for the task were cited as providing an ‘excellent’ or ‘outstanding’ service.
The survey did find that when users searched for specific information, for example the availability of free childcare for 2-4 year olds, they were almost always led into directory services hosted on third party platforms.
Socitm warned these directories can be ‘problematic’ depending on how well they are implemented and integrated with the main council website, and how well they are maintained.
