ICT usage in municipalities and county authorities (discontinued), 2006

Municipalities and county municipalities spent NOK 1.79 billion on computer equipment, software and consultancy services in 2006.

Purchase of computer equipment and software

The county municipalities spent NOK 509.5 million on computer equipment, software and consultancy services in 2006, divided between NOK 411.5 million on computer equipment and NOK 98 million on software and consultancy services. County municipalities had an increase in ICT expenditure of almost 50 per cent compared to 2005, when total expenses amounted to NOK 342 million. The development is mainly a result of increased purchase of computer equipment.

The municipalities spent NOK 1 280 million on computer equipment, software and consultancy services in 2006, a slight decrease from 2005, when total expenses came to NOK 1 324 million.

Only 19 per cent of the municipalities and 17 per cent of the county municipalities expect to spend less on computer equipment in 2007 than in 2006. Furthermore, only 15 per cent of the municipalities and 6 per cent of the county municipalities expect that expenditure for software and related consultancy services will decrease in 2007. The municipalities and county municipalities share the view that the expenditure for software will be higher than the expenditure for computer equipment.

Electronic services

About 95 per cent of the population live in municipalities that make information on local council meetings, minutes etc. available on the Internet. Access to more advanced services are less widespread. Three out of four people live in municipalities where it is possible to order material or submit data electronically via web forms, for instance kindergarten applications. The proportion of the municipalities that offer the various services is lower than the proportion of the population who have access to the same services. This is because the number of large municipalities that offer services on the Internet is larger than the number of small municipalities. For instance, 40 per cent of the population may submit data electronically via pre-completed web forms although only 17 per cent of the municipalities offer this service.

ICT strategy

About 83 per cent of county municipalities and 49 per cent of municipalities have an ICT strategy that has been updated in the last two years. The strategy covers ICT security in all county municipalities and in 96 per cent of municipalities. Strategies for open source, open standards and electronic purchasing systems are considerably more common in municipalities with more than 15 000 inhabitants.

Tables:

• Table 1 Expenditure on computer equipment, software and related consultancy services in municipalities and county municipalities. 2005-2006. NOK 1 000
• Table 2 Share of population with access to different types of services offered by municipalities on Internett. 2006. Per cent
• Table 3 Share of municipalities and county municipalities with a ICT-strategy that are updated within the two last years. 2004-2006. Per cent
• Table 4 Share of counties and municipalities with different areas included in a updated ICT-strategy. 2006. Per cent