Each transactional service is shown together with the department, agency or other body responsible for it. Transaction volumes are also provided for nearly all services.
For high-volume services – those with over 750,000 transactions per year – and some others, additional data is available by clicking on the service name in tables and chart sections. This data is described in more detail below.
Time period covered
The figures used in the explorer are collected from departments every three months, but all datasets cover a twelve-month period to eliminate seasonal fluctuations.
The latest data published was requested in June 2013, is marked Q2 2013, and typically covers the period April 2012 to March 2013.
On the detailed service pages, the latest data is compared to previous quarters wherever possible.
Department
The government department that provides the service directly, or manages or sponsors the public body responsible for its delivery.
Service type
The type of service provided, such as making a payment, or requesting benefits or loans.
Customer type
The principal users of the service: business or citizens.
Citizens are categorised as expert, mainstream or challenged, depending on the access they typically have to online services, and their level of technical expertise.
Cost model
Fiscal indicates transactional services which are paid for directly through departmental budgets, and cost recovery indicates those paid for by users of the services.
Under the fiscal cost model, savings from improving the efficiency of transactional services will benefit the taxpayer; under the cost recovery model, savings will typically benefit consumers in the form of lower prices or fees.
Web link
A link to further information about how to use the service, or to the service itself where it is available online.
Total transactions per year
The total number of transactions completed successfully in a 12-month period.
Digital take-up
The percentage of transactions that are completed through digital channels.
Transactions that can be completed only partially through digital channels are still counted as digital.
Average cost per transaction
The average cost of providing each successfully completed transaction.
The cost per transaction is calculated as the total cost of providing the service divided by the total number of completed transactions across all channels (web, phone, post etc.).
Most services are not directly comparable as each includes different processes with varying levels of complexity. As such, cost per transaction should not be seen as a relative measure of cost-efficiency across different services.
Cost per transaction figures should be viewed in conjunction with the notes on costs.
Total cost
The total cost of providing a service.
The figure includes costs for staff, IT and accommodation. See full list of elements included in total cost.
Notes on costs
Additional context for the cost per transaction data.
The wide range of values for cost per transaction can often be explained by the different processes involved in providing the services.
Data coverage
Indicates the proportion of requested data provided by each department.
Raw data
All of the raw data from the Transactions Explorer can be downloaded into spreadsheet compatible CSV files using the links at the bottom of each data table.