Ten years after tax, social security departments in the USA and elsewhere are moving cautiously online. The UK is pioneering ‘digital by default’ services and the advent of a universal credit at DWP could be an opportunity for breakthrough progress

Abstract

Internationally, tax services are now building on solid progress in encouraging online take-up of their services. However social security services have not yet made this break through. Service Canada was the first to put employment insurance online in 2005 and they now have a 98 per cent take-up rate for new applications. The US Social Security Administration followed in 2009 and now have nearly 40 per cent of new pension applications completed online. In the UK, Jane Tinkler writes that the Department for Work and Pensions needs to move online in order to reduce costs and improve services, but there are worrying signs with the new universal credit that lessons are not being learnt about the ‘big bang’ approach to online provision