The United Kingdom Government aims to save billions of pounds by shutting down telephone and face-to-face-services in the public sector and moving everything online.

A statement from the Government said the moves would save £1.2 billion ($A1.84 billion) by 2015.

It said that after 2015, £1.7 billion ($A2.60 billion) could be saved every year by requiring the public to pay car tax, book driving tests, complete tax returns and apply for their State pensions online.

The statement said the shift to digital would see the elimination of traditional ways of interacting with Government such as over the phone, in writing, or face-to-face.

According to the Cabinet Office, of the 500,000 different transactions that took place each year in Central Government through 650 different services, a large number still did not have digital options.

“The strategy would address this and help Government improve the digital skills the Civil Service still lacks,” said the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude.

“Britain is in a global race and that’s why we need to have modern, efficient, digital-by-default public services that are fit for the 21st century.”

He said digital services were much more convenient because they could be accessed whenever they were wanted.

“They are also much more efficient, saving taxpayers’ money and the user’s time.  “Online transactions can be 20 times cheaper than by phone, 30 times cheaper than face-to-face, and up to 50 times cheaper than by post.”

Critics of the plan are concerned however that with eight million people in the UK not hooked up to the internet, and not capable of doing so, there was a risk that the most vulnerable sectors of the community could be excluded from dealing with their own Government.

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