News

IT for government and public sector

September 11, 2020 11 Sep'20
Russian interference in US elections ramps up on schedule

With the critical US 2020 presidential election looming, Russian-state backed hackers are once again after organisations directly involved in political elections, launching thousands of targeted attacks
September 11, 2020 11 Sep'20
Government funds digital manufacturing projects

The business secretary has announced £300 million of funding for virtual assistants, augmented reality and digital supply chain innovations
September 10, 2020 10 Sep'20
Irish privacy watchdog orders Facebook to stop sending user data to the US

Irish privacy watchdog orders Facebook to suspend transfers of European citizens’ data to the US after Schrems II ruling that Europeans have no effective way to challenge American government surveillance
September 10, 2020 10 Sep'20
HMRC signs up Fujitsu for two years of user computing support

As it disentangles the Aspire contract, HMRC has been working directly with key IT suppliers, with this latest agreement providing managed desktop IT

September 10, 2020 10 Sep'20
Edinburgh council to create smart city operations centre

Edinburgh council extends an outsourcing agreement with CGI as it steps up its smart city programme
September 09, 2020 09 Sep'20
London councils to share technology procurement platform

A new technology procurement platform will help all 33 local councils in London diversify their IT supplier portfolios
September 09, 2020 09 Sep'20
Technology businesses vital to UK post-Covid economic recovery

Technology firms are set to play a larger role in UK’s post-Covid economy and are being encouraged to expand overseas after a strong year for digital exports
September 09, 2020 09 Sep'20
Abu Dhabi government launches peer-to-peer coding campus

Abu Dhabi government launches a specialist programming school that uses peer-to-peer teaching methods and gamification
September 09, 2020 09 Sep'20
Government publishes long-promised national data strategy

The government has published a national data strategy aimed at fostering innovation and increasing economic growth. It will also appoint 10 data fellows each year to work in the orbit of Number 10, and create 500 analyst jobs by 2021
September 08, 2020 08 Sep'20
UK leads Europe in net zero venture capital investment

With the UK leading venture capital investment in net zero enterprises, Tech Nation have launched a new, government-backed scaleup programme to further develop the sector

September 08, 2020 08 Sep'20
Post Office Horizon IT scandal victims face further battles as government digs heels in

The government repeats that it won’t pay victims’ legal costs and confirms review into the scandal will not have the power to call witnesses
September 08, 2020 08 Sep'20
Matt Hancock announces £50m for healthcare AI projects

The NHS and industry must have a ‘symbiotic’ relationship, says health secretary Matt Hancock as he promises to improve the environment for innovation in healthcare and announces £50m in funding for a series of healthcare AI projects
September 08, 2020 08 Sep'20
CIO interview: Paul Neville, director of digital and ICT, Waltham Forest

The IT chief at one of the most digitally advanced London boroughs talks to Computer Weekly about the past, present and future of tech-enabled transformation in times of crisis
September 07, 2020 07 Sep'20
Experts slam government digital ID response

TechUK panel members say the government’s response to its digital identity consultation provides no concrete plan for moving forward
September 07, 2020 07 Sep'20
Court rejects request to exclude ‘11th hour’ US evidence against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

Lawyers for Julian Assange say the US has introduced an 11th hour indictment against the WikiLeaks founder that provides additional grounds for his extradition
September 07, 2020 07 Sep'20
AI Summit 2020: Regulating AI for the common good

Speakers and panellists at the virtual AI Summit 2020 spoke about the tensions between cooperation and competition in the development of artificial intelligence
September 07, 2020 07 Sep'20
Government awards £32m funding for ‘pioneering’ health tech projects

Science minister Amanda Solloway will announce £32m in funding for six healthcare technology research projects, including artificial robotic muscular assistance and quantum imaging for monitoring
September 04, 2020 04 Sep'20
UK funds coronavirus research for vulnerable global communities

The £7.2m fund will support UK university research into supporting refugees and children affected by the global health crisis
September 04, 2020 04 Sep'20
Government should learn lessons from Brexit, says NAO

National Audit Office report finds government did not plan adequately for Brexit and needs to be better prepared to deal with uncertainty and improve communication, engagement and planning
September 04, 2020 04 Sep'20
Virtual London Tech Week is a sign of the future

London Tech week's virtual event is another sign of how the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation
September 04, 2020 04 Sep'20
Scottish government to spend £4m on creating five tech hubs

Following a review of the tech sector, the Scottish government is creating five technology hubs to support startups in the country, aiming to support 300 startups by 2025
September 04, 2020 04 Sep'20
Major border disruption on the horizon as Brexit IT portfolio becomes ‘unmanageable’

The proliferation of new platforms and work behind schedule is among the list of concerns cited in a leaked memo
September 03, 2020 03 Sep'20
HMRC appoints Daljit Rehal as CDIO

Former digital and data chief at Centrica, Daljit Rehal, takes the helm at HMRC as chief digital and information officer
September 02, 2020 02 Sep'20
Guernsey to revamp digital local service delivery following double datacentre build-out

The State of Guernsey’s ongoing push to revamp how it delivers digital services to its citizens continues apace with the completion of two new datacentres on the island
September 02, 2020 02 Sep'20
Northumbria University suffers major disruption after cyber attack

Some exams cancelled as university appoints external specialists to investigate incident
September 02, 2020 02 Sep'20
UK to build commercially available quantum computer

The UK government is backing a quantum computing project that will provide businesses with access to the technology
September 02, 2020 02 Sep'20
Ethical and professional data science needed to avoid further algorithm controversies

BCS is calling for higher ethical and professional standards in algorithmic development to ensure public trust in future government information systems
September 02, 2020 02 Sep'20
App integration means emergency services can identify caller location in three words

Capita integrates What3words app into its emergency services control centre platform to help respondents identify the exact location of people who need help
September 01, 2020 01 Sep'20
UK government unveils next steps in digital identity plans

Long-awaited response to July 2019 consultation highlights private sector demands for digital identity support from government
September 01, 2020 01 Sep'20
Norway’s corporates want government to support ‘herd immunity’ to cyber attack

Leading business organisations in Norway call on government to play a more active role in improving and coordinating the country’s cyber defences
August 28, 2020 28 Aug'20
University of Staffordshire recruits robots to get more out of its people

University staff were bogged down with administrative work, but will now have time to be creative
August 28, 2020 28 Aug'20
Office for National Statistics defines better cross-government data linkage

ONS review of data-linking practices across government is consistent with Cummings and Johnson drive to put data in command of government
August 28, 2020 28 Aug'20
New Zealand activates security services as DDoS outage enters fourth day

New Zealand government calls in its national cyber security agencies to help investigate a continuing cyber attack on the country’s financial systems
August 28, 2020 28 Aug'20
Interview: Frankie Kay, interim director general for data capability, ONS

The Office for National Statistics’ interim director general for data capability talks about how data plays an important role in the battle against Covid-19 and how the pandemic has unearthed new ways of collaborating
August 28, 2020 28 Aug'20
Benefit fraud: Underground trade in stolen identities revealed

A roaring underground trade in stolen identities is undermining the Universal Credit system and could potentially defraud it out of millions of pounds
August 27, 2020 27 Aug'20
Tech and telecoms advisory group set up to help trade negotiations

Department of International Trade launches new Trade Advisory Groups to guide trade negotiations with other countries
August 27, 2020 27 Aug'20
UK government publishes new insights on transport tech attitudes

The latest wave of the study investigates public attitudes on innovations such as autonomous vehicles and drones
August 26, 2020 26 Aug'20
Amazon UK boss to help select new government CDO

Outgoing Amazon UK boss Doug Gurr is on the selection panel to assess candidates for the government chief digital officer role, which offers a salary of up to £200,000 per year
August 26, 2020 26 Aug'20
DWP searches for talent as part of apprenticeship programme

The Department of Work and Pensions is looking for diverse talent to fill software and networking roles while developing skills on the job
August 26, 2020 26 Aug'20
Government must urgently prioritise digital identity, says tech sector

TechUK calls on government to make digital identity a focus of its digital strategy as the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the ‘urgent need’ for digital IDs
August 25, 2020 25 Aug'20
Council to connect hundreds of its sites through wide area network

Local authorities invest in networking and contact centre technology through IT outsourcing contracts
August 25, 2020 25 Aug'20
Obituary: Lord Harry Renwick – a parliamentary pioneer for IT interests

Lord Harry Renwick, once a key influencer for technology policy in Parliament, and a long-standing friend of Computer Weekly, passed away this month
August 24, 2020 24 Aug'20
Government makes digital leadership changes

The government has begun recruiting for a chief digital officer at permanent secretary level and Government Digital Service director general Alison Pritchard is leaving to join the Office for National Statistics
August 24, 2020 24 Aug'20
CCS to launch £800m NHS IT framework

Collaborative framework agreement will cover a range of IT management services for use by NHS Digital and other public sector health and social care organisations
August 21, 2020 21 Aug'20
Scottish government reveals broadband voucher scheme to make up project shortfall

Government reveals details of funding for Scottish residents who fall outside reach of its primary broadband project
August 21, 2020 21 Aug'20
SMEs outperform Q2 expectations but remain cautious about Q3 prospects

Small confidence boost for small to medium-sized enterprises puts tech investment back on the table over coming 12 months
August 20, 2020 20 Aug'20
Drop in number of students taking GCSE computing in 2020

The amount of students deciding to take GCSE computing in England drops despite an increase last year
August 20, 2020 20 Aug'20
Government launches anti-crime tech competition

Government seeks technologies that allow police officers to use less lethal means to stop violent or armed offenders
August 19, 2020 19 Aug'20
Scotland announces £15m investment to boost connectivity

Funding package aimed at improving internet access for 23,000 low-income households
August 19, 2020 19 Aug'20
Loan charge MPs urge chancellor to get HMRC to soften contractor settlements

Co-chairs of Loan Charge All Party Parliamentary Group write to Rishi Sunak to seek a fairer deal for contractors caught by HMRC’s disguised remuneration policy