COUNTY councillors and officials may soon be out of a job after Hertfordshire County Council were awarded £400,000 to help deliver more of its services electronically.

The county has won a two-year government grant after detailing how it would meet national targets for delivering as many services as possible via electronic communication by 2005. The grant allocation reflects Hertfordshire's reputation as one of the local authorities leading the transition to e-government.

It follows a move by St Albans District Council which would let residents vote online in the local May elections.

The new grant offered to the county council will be aimed at specific projects including linking up with other councils and public sector bodies through a community portal. This should help create a network with a shared knowledge base. It is also hoped the move will develop paper free systems for a greener work environment and boost current systems so the council can meet national standards on data storage.

Councillor Derrick Ashley, executive member for community information and development, said: "National figures show the number of homes with access to PCs is growing rapidly and the county council needs to reflect this trend by providing more services electronically.

"We've made great strides in recent years and the grant will help us give people the choice of how they choose to access services."