By John Thornton. Reproduced by permission of eGov Monitor Weekly A major challenge facing e-Government champions in local councils is to make the agenda real and tangible for politicians, citizens and colleagues. John Thornton, Director of eGovernment, at the Improvement & Development Agency describes how the second round of Implementing e-Government Statements, which must be prepared by the end of the month, can be used to get attention. He sees the Statement as the opportunity to publicise the vision and explain how it will be delivered.

Local councils in Scotland will today point to a 440 million pound gap between the Scottish Executive’s Spending Review Calculations for the next three years and the cost of funding core local government services.The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities - COSLA - will give evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s local government committee. 

The government is beginning consultations on plans to move the 2004 English local council elections - and the polls for the Greater London Assembly - to the same day as the European Parliamentary elections.