Parliament is building a new website – and it doesn't want GDS anywhere near it The UK Parliament is hiring a load of web developers, analysts and UX folk as it prepares to revamp its website – and it's keeping the whole project well away from the Government Digital Service, The Register has learned. Parliament's website, while functional and reasonably clear, is a bit long in the tooth – and its …
As a web developer, I cringe whenever I read articles like this.
With all due respect those who work in parliament have little to no understanding of how the web works, much less what users want from it, how they use it, or the technology that powers it.
They should start by contracting professionals to educate THEMSELVES (i.e. members of parliament) in how things work, and how end users have vastly differing requirements. Until then it's hard to take anything they're saying seriously and very concerning they're spending vast sums of money on something they know frankly nothing about.
We need to leave this London centric political union, they cost us too much, don't deliver anything for the ordinary working people and they create too much red tape!
I call for a referendum, to free up the billions in wasted money they take out of our pockets everyday and the repeal of their laws that premote globalisation and non-accountability.
I'm forming the SHires Independance party - SHIP - lets ship them out of our lives.
"What London needs is to leave England behind. We could have a referendum to leave England."
or the UK could simply decide to leave London to a rising sea level and move its capital to somewhere a bit more appropriate. The rest of us might even allow immigrants, such as yourself, in. Either that or subsidise your swimming lessons 8)
I live in a damp county (Somerset) ... on a hill.
"I'm forming the SHires Independance party - SHIP - lets ship them out of our lives"
Thinking like that lead to a couple of really shit boats departing from Southampton, one breaking a bit more and limping to Dartmouth and the other parking up for a while in Plymouth before making a really badly advised E-W Atlantic crossing but somehow getting to the other side.
Funny how few people remember the "Speedwell".
It won't be long before you are whinging about the tax on tea and demonstrating that the true mark of a Briton is to not stand for pissing about with the one true drink and declaring yourself independent by throwing boxes of imported Yorkie brew (the non existent irony sadly lost at the time) into the flood waters around Brent Knoll where your hastily built ark grounded after Google nav went a bit weird.
They should build a whole new parliament while they're at it. You know somewhere 21st century, up to date, with modern facilities and very modest accommodation blocks where our elected representatives, who need to be in London for short periods, can share kitchen/sitting room/washing facilities with half a dozen other representatives, from all sides, and enjoy the chance to engage in political discussion whilst sharing the washing up duties. I dunno, base it on the Welsh / Scottish assemblies and turn the old place into a museum with coffee bars and conference facilities.
Hopefully they'll offer the video archives in something a bit better than Silverlight that is properly cross platform (HTML5, anyone?)
The information available is quite comprehensive, you just need to allow yourself time to find out where it is. I assume that's the sort of thing to be addressed by the revamp.
So that would be like every other department's digital service, then.
GDS is the Cabinet Office's digital service. It defined the approach (taking best research, design and development practices from the private sector); it also helped all the departments and agencies to consolidate their content from hundreds of separate sites onto a single GOV.UK site.
Other departments and agencies, like DWP, Dept of Health, HMRC. Home Office, Ministry of Justice, DVLA and many others each have their own separate digital services. While they follow the lead and template set by GDS, they are separate entities, with their own respective budgets and operating in their own way.
Parliament is doing exactly the same thing. So this is perfectly normal - whether it's a good or a bad thing entirely depends on how well Parliament do their research, design and implementation.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
