News

IT for government and public sector

• April 21, 2020 21 Apr'20

  Government launches online financial support platform for business

  Businesses will be able to use the government’s online support finder tool to discover what sort of financial support is available to them during the Covid-19 pandemic

• April 21, 2020 21 Apr'20

  CIO interview: Theo Blackwell, CDO for London

  Digital and data are transforming the way London runs – from transport to public services. The first ever chief digital officer for London explains how his team are going about it

• April 20, 2020 20 Apr'20

  Dutch organisations address business email compromise fraud

  Public-private partnership in the Netherlands works to break the chains used by fraudsters to carry out BEC attacks

• April 20, 2020 20 Apr'20

  CIO interview: Jason Oliver, IT director, University of Sussex

  Imagine taking a year to formulate a digital transformation plan – then having to implement much of it in two weeks when the coronavirus hit. For the Sussex University IT chief, there’s even more to do now

• April 20, 2020 20 Apr'20

  Machine learning to help hospitals predict Covid-19 demand

  The system developed by NHS Digital and the University of Cambridge will support hospitals in England in handling upcoming demand for intensive care beds and ventilators

• April 17, 2020 17 Apr'20

  Government investigates perceptions about data sharing of health and social care

  A project has been launched to find out about citizen understanding around data uses, and how perception may have been affected after the Covid-19 outbreak

• April 16, 2020 16 Apr'20

  St Albans council integrates systems in effort to streamline processes

  The council of St Albans has implemented a unified digital platform to streamline how citizens interact with its services, as well as its own decision-making processes

• April 16, 2020 16 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Nordic digital educators collaborate with authorities amid pandemic

  Nordic education technology startups are supporting education establishments in offering continued education during the Covid-19 crisis

• April 16, 2020 16 Apr'20

  DWP turns to Government Gateway to support Universal Credit claims

  Existing users of HMRC’s digital identity system can use their credentials to apply for benefits, in a move designed to ease bottlenecks caused by Gov.uk Verify performance problems

• April 16, 2020 16 Apr'20

  NHS Wales to get free security services during coronavirus pandemic

  NHS Wales Informatics Services enlists Thales to help it face down security threats and let its teams focus on the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis

• April 15, 2020 15 Apr'20

  House of Commons reports progress on virtual Parliament

  Plans to take certain proceedings online are on track but ‘bumps along the way’ are expected, according to the Speaker of the House of Commons

• April 15, 2020 15 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Nordic authorities use tech in fight against Covid-19

  Nordic government organisations are working with private technology firms in the region to support their efforts to contain the coronavirus

• April 15, 2020 15 Apr'20

  Tech firms, academia and charities unite to deliver 4G tablets to Covid-19 patients

  The Life Lines project aims to keep critically ill patients connected when they are being cared for inside intensive care units across the UK

• April 09, 2020 09 Apr'20

  NHSX partners with Facebook and Accenture for video call device trial during Covid-19 crisis

  Social media firm will distribute the equipment in hospitals, care homes and other healthcare settings

• April 09, 2020 09 Apr'20

  ‘It's going to be a really different NHS’ – how NHS Digital is tackling the coronavirus crisis

  The Covid-19 outbreak has led to huge amounts of work for NHS Digital, shifting its priorities and creating unprecedented demand for products and data, but it has also had a positive impact, says CEO Sarah Wilkinson

• April 09, 2020 09 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: Zoom restricted or banned at multiple organisations

  Use of videoconferencing tool has been banned at Google and in parts of the German and US governments

• April 08, 2020 08 Apr'20

  Games developers join fight against coronavirus

  Sector firms will deliver health messaging to UK citizens though popular games under a partnership with the government

• April 08, 2020 08 Apr'20

  What next for subpostmasters’ miscarriage of justice appeals?

  Computer Weekly looks at the next stages in the process to clear the names of subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted for the crimes of theft and false accounting

• April 08, 2020 08 Apr'20

  IR35 private sector reforms: Blanket bans on limited company contractors hold firm despite deferral

  While many firms have seized on the government’s decision to delay the roll-out of the IR35 reforms to rethink their approach, others are sticking by their decision to ban limited company IT contractors from their workforce

• April 07, 2020 07 Apr'20

  Judge refuses to delay Assange's extradition hearing over coronavirus pandemic

  District Judge Vanessa Baraitser says extradition proceedings will go ahead against Julian Assange, after his lawyers argued that the coronavirus lockdown means they cannot prepare their defence

• April 07, 2020 07 Apr'20

  House of Commons commits to digital Parliament

  Temporary arrangements will be in place to allow MPs to work remotely, with a project involving the BBC set to implement a more robust solution

• April 06, 2020 06 Apr'20

  Government launches £20m tech fund to tackle coronavirus crisis

  The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy announced the funding to back proposals to be reviewed by Innovate UK

• April 03, 2020 03 Apr'20

  Speaker calls for virtual Parliament during coronavirus crisis

  Pressure mounts to build on previous virtual trials in parliamentary committee hearings and enable the House of Commons to operate remotely.

• April 03, 2020 03 Apr'20

  Use of NHS technology surges during Covid-19 outbreak

  Digital platforms provided by the health service are attracting many more users as a result of social distancing and the need to provide services remotely

• April 02, 2020 02 Apr'20

  What the Court of Appeal referrals mean to those who campaigned for justice for subpostmasters

  Former subpostmasters and their supporters describe their feelings after their appeals against convictions – some of which are nearly 20 years old – get sent to the Court of Appeal

• April 02, 2020 02 Apr'20

  MPs call for digital Parliament

  In a letter with more than 100 co-signatories, Labour MP Chi Onwurah calls for politicians to lead by example during the coronavirus outbreak

• April 01, 2020 01 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: NHSX working on contact tracing app

  A contact tracing app to track the spread of infection is being developed, although specific technical details remain scarce

• March 31, 2020 31 Mar'20

  Netherlands schools harness Apple technology

  Most Dutch schools use Windows computers, interactive whiteboards and Chromebooks, but there are a number of pioneers who choose Apple products

• March 31, 2020 31 Mar'20

  Whitehall appoints civil service COO to replace John Manzoni

  Former CMA chief executive Alex Chisholm also takes on the roles of COO and permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office

• March 31, 2020 31 Mar'20

  Hackathon launched to help fight coronavirus pandemic

  Virtual hackathon seeks to develop a suite of applications to help people during the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak through ethically built technology

• March 30, 2020 30 Mar'20

  Ministry of Defence releases defence data management strategy

  The report sets out how the department will improve the way it manages and uses data

• March 29, 2020 29 Mar'20

  Australian government unveils Covid-19 app

  Federal government launches Coronavirus Australia app to keep Australians updated on the latest developments in its fight against the coronavirus outbreak

• March 27, 2020 27 Mar'20

  How subpostmasters made legal history with biggest referral of potential miscarriages of justice

  Subpostmasters seeking redress of prosecutions at the hands of an IT system force the biggest ever UK referral of cases of potential miscarriages of justice to the Court of Appeal

• March 27, 2020 27 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Derbyshire Police deploy drones to enforce social distancing rules

  Police forces across the UK are using technology to exercise new emergency powers granted by the government this week as part of its coronavirus response

• March 27, 2020 27 Mar'20

  Crown Commercial Service advises on remote working tech

  Public sector organisations want to understand their options to support their workforce during the Covid-19 crisis

• March 27, 2020 27 Mar'20

  NHS rolls out video consultations at GPs to support lockdown

  Video consultation service aims to reduce face-to-face contact to protect patients and reduce infection, as well as caring for people who are mostly staying at home

• March 26, 2020 26 Mar'20

  Subpostmaster prosecutions to be considered by Court of Appeal for miscarriages of justice

  The Criminal Cases Review Commission is referring 39 subpostmaster prosecutions to the Court of Appeal to review for possible miscarriages of justice, with further analysis on 22 more cases ongoing

• March 25, 2020 25 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Chatbot to help Estonians cope during pandemic

  Estonian government is using a chatbot developed by local startups to answer the many questions its citizens have about Covid-19

• March 25, 2020 25 Mar'20

  Meeting reviewing subpostmaster applications to appeal criminal prosecutions moves into second day

  The Criminal Cases Review Commission has extended a meeting considering subpostmaster applications to appeal criminal convictions resulting from a faulty Post Office IT system

• March 24, 2020 24 Mar'20

  Huge queues for Universal Credit online applications due to coronavirus surge

  Online queues in the tens of thousands are hindering emergency applications for Universal Credit, with the Gov.uk Verify identity verification system becoming a particular bottleneck

• March 24, 2020 24 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Mobilising data science

  Policy-makers are calling on the global data science community to develop data models that can can help them better understand the Covid-19 transmission rate

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Post Office postpones subpostmaster compensation scheme amid Covid-19 crisis

  Scheme to compensate subpostmasters who suffered because of computer errors in the Post Office’s Horizon system is delayed

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Kaspersky, Bitdefender make products free to NHS

  Kaspersky and Bitdefender have both made various products and services available free to healthcare customers as the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic intensifies

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: CCRC uses Microsoft Teams to consider subpostmaster appeals

  Criminal Cases Review Commission to use Microsoft Teams to ensure review of subpostmaster prosecutions is held on time

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Singapore’s JTC taps GIS platform in Punggol Digital District

  The planners behind Singapore’s Punggol Digital District are using a geographic information system to make better planning decisions and improve day-to-day operations

• March 20, 2020 20 Mar'20

  Dstl launches report on the future of cities

  Dstl research aims to support decision-making of the UK military by analysing topics such as the influence of technology in urban warfare

• March 20, 2020 20 Mar'20

  MP warns minister not to parrot civil servants’ lines on Post Office IT scandal

  MP Kevan Jones has warned a government minister not to repeat the mistakes of predecessors in relation to the Post Office Horizon IT scandal

• March 20, 2020 20 Mar'20

  How an Estonian digital nation emerged from the embers of Soviet rule

  Estonia’s minister for foreign trade and IT tells Computer Weekly how the country went from having no governmental infrastructure in the early 1990s to acquiring the label “digital nation”

• March 19, 2020 19 Mar'20

  Loan charge under review: Cross-party group of MPs slams government inquiry into tax policy

  The government’s independent inquiry into the loan charge disguised remuneration policy has been criticised in a report by a cross-party group of MPs for being ‘fundamentally flawed’

• March 19, 2020 19 Mar'20

  Covid-19: NHS tackles coronavirus crisis with the help of tech

  As the pandemic grows and creates enormous pressure on the health service, NHS organisations across the country are using technology to help cope

• March 18, 2020 18 Mar'20

  Surrey goes live with child health system

  CSH Surrey goes live with its new platform, with the information on 440,000 children's health now consolidated onto a single platform

• March 18, 2020 18 Mar'20

  Post Office executives used ‘grotesque predatory capitalism’ throughout Horizon IT scandal

  Labour MP Karl Turner tells Computer Weekly that the Post Office Horizon scandal is the most grotesque version of predatory capitalism he has ever seen

• March 18, 2020 18 Mar'20

  Estonia offers digital tools to countries struggling with coronavirus school closures

  Government and tech companies in Baltic state unite to offer advanced digital learning tools to other countries

• March 18, 2020 18 Mar'20

  Swedish municipalities test AI to drive efficiencies and cost savings

  Research in Sweden measures the benefits of using artificial intelligence in local government operations

• March 18, 2020 18 Mar'20

  IR35 private sector reforms: Coronavirus prompts Treasury to delay start date to April 2021

  HM Treasury confirms roll-out of IR35 reforms to the private sector will be halted for a year to ease the pressure on businesses in the face of the coronavirus outbreak

• March 17, 2020 17 Mar'20

  MoD defence capabilities programme in trouble, says NAO

  The Ministry of Defence is struggling with its £196bn defence capabilities programme, as 10 of 32 projects, including several technology ones, are in trouble, according to the National Audit Office

• March 17, 2020 17 Mar'20

  Courts make use of tech to hold remote hearings due to Covid-19

  The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary will increase the use of technology in court proceedings as emergency legislation is being drafted to expand powers to allow criminal courts to hold remote hearings during the Covid-19 pandemic

• March 16, 2020 16 Mar'20

  Secret Post Office deals cause fury among Horizon IT scandal campaigners

  The Post Office has sparked anger with secret settlements with subpostmasters outside the recent legal action against it

• March 13, 2020 13 Mar'20

  Equality watchdog calls on police to stop using facial recognition

  Equalities and Human Rights Commission says use of automatic facial recognition and predictive algorithms by police is discriminatory, stifles freedom of expression and lacks a proper legislative framework

• March 13, 2020 13 Mar'20

  Councils awarded £1.2m in innovation funding

  Six councils will each get up to £350,000 for digital innovation projects aiming to improve services for residents, in the latest round of the Local Digital Fund

• March 13, 2020 13 Mar'20

  Budget 2020: Full of promises, but is it enough?

  Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget provided plenty of cash for technology and innovation, but has the government done enough to make the tech industry happy?

• March 13, 2020 13 Mar'20

  US Department of Defense requests time to re-evaluate section of AWS and Microsoft JEDI bids

  The Department of Defense is to request a resubmission of information from Microsoft and Amazon Web Services about their JEDI bids, as the long-running US cloud procurement saga drags on

• March 11, 2020 11 Mar'20

  Budget 2020: Omission of IR35 from chancellor's speech sparks fury from contracting groups

  Despite repeated warnings of the damage the incoming IR35 reforms stand to do to the UK economy, contracting groups hit out at the government's decision to press ahead with the changes

• March 11, 2020 11 Mar'20

  Fintech workers called to share their experiences of microaggression

  Fintech workers were asked to share upsetting workplace incidents as part of an anonymous study

• March 11, 2020 11 Mar'20

  Cross-regulator taskforce on digital economy announced in 2020 Budget

  UK regulators will join forces to look at how the potential regulation of the digital platforms and advertising markets would work

• March 11, 2020 11 Mar'20

  Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s 2020 Budget pumps £22bn into R&D

  The 2020 Budget pledges to increase research and development funding to £22bn a year, £5bn for broadband roll-out and £900m to ensure UK businesses lead the way in “high-potential technologies”, but slashes tax relief for entrepreneurs

• March 11, 2020 11 Mar'20

  International Women’s Day provides platform for Nordic women in tech

  International annual event reminds tech industry that work needs to be done to reduce inequality, but organisations must work towards this on a daily basis

• March 11, 2020 11 Mar'20

  NHS partners with Google to improve health information online

  Latest measures will ensure direct access to NHS advice for more than 250 most-searched health conditions

• March 10, 2020 10 Mar'20

  MPs told to hold to account those responsible for Post Office Horizon IT scandal

  Subpostmasters who had their lives destroyed by a faulty IT system and mistreatment by the Post Office have asked MPs to hold to account the people responsible for the injustices

• March 10, 2020 10 Mar'20

  More questions raised about Gov.uk Verify as digital identity chief quits

  Lisa Barrett, director of digital identity at GDS and head of the troubled Verify programme, is leaving government as funding questions remain ahead of Budget

• March 10, 2020 10 Mar'20

  GDS works on joining up government services

  The GDS is assembling a business case as information about the impact of disjointed government offerings is gathered

• March 10, 2020 10 Mar'20

  DCMS seeks outside experts to review government data sharing ahead of spending review

  The DCMS is seeking consultants to undertake a short-term but strategic project to figure out how to improve data sharing across government ahead of the comprehensive spending review, rolled over from 2019 to 2020

• March 09, 2020 09 Mar'20

  TechUK lays out proposals for Spring Budget

  Trade body TechUK sets out its view on how to accelerate UK growth through technology in its submission to the March 2020 Budget

• March 06, 2020 06 Mar'20

  MI5 slammed by watchdog for failing to delete intercepted phone and internet data

  The Investigatory Powers Commissioner (IPCO) has criticised MI5 for failing to report serious errors in the way it handles intercepted phone and internet data

• March 06, 2020 06 Mar'20

  Those who did not play by the rules in Post Office Horizon scandal “should face prosecution”

  Telford MP has become a vocal member of the campaign for justice for the subpostmasters who had their lives devastated as a result of being blamed for losses caused by errors in the Post Office’s core retail and accounting system

• March 06, 2020 06 Mar'20

  Oliver Dowden: UK can be “unashamedly pro-tech nation”

  The secretary of state spoke about the country's opportunity to “unleash all the innovation and enterprise that emerging technologies can provide”

• March 05, 2020 05 Mar'20

  Boots and Tesco loyalty card schemes plagued by security issues

  High-street retailers deal with fraudulent attempts to access the accounts of thousands of customers

• March 05, 2020 05 Mar'20

  Biometrics ethics group takes evidence on public-private use of facial recognition

  Collaboration between police forces and private entities on facial recognition technology comes under scrutiny by the Home Office’s Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group

• March 04, 2020 04 Mar'20

  MPs call on PM to commit to full public inquiry into Post Office Horizon IT scandal

  Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee to investigate the Horizon IT system and will question Post Office executives over subpostmasters wrongly accused of fraud

• March 04, 2020 04 Mar'20

  5G security is a concern for most companies

  A study has found that decision-makers fear that 5G technology will make organisations more vulnerable to cyber attacks and will raise security-related costs

• March 03, 2020 03 Mar'20

  MPs double down on criticism of HMRC's loan charge enforcement action report

  The war of words between the Loan Charge All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and HMRC has deepened, as the cross-party group of MPs pens three-page letter outlining its issues with how tax agency is reporting on its enforcement activities

• March 02, 2020 02 Mar'20

  HMRC CEO denies it is ‘deliberately misleading’ public over loan scheme promoter arrests

  HMRC CEO Jim Harra has “strongly rejected” claims made on social media by the Loan Charge All Party Parliamentary Group of cross-party MPs that it is “deliberately misleading” the public about its recent loan scheme-related enforcement activities

• March 02, 2020 02 Mar'20

  NHSX appoints chief information officer

  Sonia Patel is the latest senior appointment at the digital unit of the National Health Service

• March 02, 2020 02 Mar'20

  Boris Johnson’s commitment to inquiry into Post Office scandal in doubt

  Boris Johnson’s apparent commitment to a public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal is not so certain

• February 28, 2020 28 Feb'20

  Student Loans Company to enlist IT suppliers for £200m transformation plan

  Suppliers are being sought to support intended improvements to Student Loans Company's customer interface and technology estate

• February 28, 2020 28 Feb'20

  Government claims it was misled by Post Office over IT scandal

  Minister says Post Office IT experts misled the government when it asked questions about subpostmasters’ concerns over Horizon IT system

• February 27, 2020 27 Feb'20

  WikiLeaks founder Assange is well enough to participate in extradition proceedings, says judge

  A judge dismissed claims that Julian Assange’s vulnerable psychological state would prevent him from taking part in his extradition hearing to face espionage and computer misuse charges in the US

• February 27, 2020 27 Feb'20

  Gove warns EU that UK sovereignty is non-negotiable on eve of trade deal talks

  The UK and the EU have published their divergent mandates for trade talks due to start on Monday 2 March 2020, and digital may emerge as a long-term terrain of dispute

• February 27, 2020 27 Feb'20

  NHSX launches Tech Plan vision

  The strategy will see a phased approach to the delivery of digitisation in the healthcare sector, with delivery kicking off this summer

• February 27, 2020 27 Feb'20

  Clearview hack fuels debate over facial recognition

  Customers of Clearview AI, a controversial startup that scrapes and sells billions of photos of people from social media to police forces, have found themselves at the centre of a major data breach

• February 27, 2020 27 Feb'20

  IR35 private sector reforms: Treasury review concludes no delay needed to April 2020 start date

  Contracting groups describe HM Treasury’s highly anticipated review into the implementation of the IR35 reforms as “recklessly inadequate” as it concludes roll-out should proceed as planned

• February 27, 2020 27 Feb'20

  IR35 reforms: IT contractors warned off joining non-compliant umbrellas to avoid loan charge risk

  Contracting stakeholders are calling on the government to do more to regulate umbrella companies ahead of the IR35 private sector reforms coming into play, to prevent more contractors falling into the scope of the loan charge

• February 27, 2020 27 Feb'20

  Redcar & Cleveland Council confirms ransomware attack

  Local authority’s systems are still offline nearly three weeks after being attacked

• February 26, 2020 26 Feb'20

  NHSX publishes first progress report since launch

  Digital unit for the National Health Service outlines achievements in areas such as the NHS App and artificial intelligence and gives clues about future milestones

• February 26, 2020 26 Feb'20

  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange cannot be legally extradited for ‘political offences’, say lawyers

  Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange argue that he has been charged with political offences and cannot be legally extradited to the US under the US-UK extradition treaty

• February 26, 2020 26 Feb'20

  Thousands of UK entrepreneurs register businesses in Estonia since Brexit referendum

  UK entrepreneurs are registering businesses in Estonia to make sure they can continue to trade freely in the EU

• February 26, 2020 26 Feb'20

  Boris Johnson commits to 'getting to the bottom of' Post Office Horizon IT scandal

  Prime minister Boris Johnson appears to commit to a public inquiry into the Post Office scandal over its accounting system, but government is yet to offer any details

• February 26, 2020 26 Feb'20

  Met Police chief backs legislative framework for police tech

  Met Police commissioner has called for legislative framework to govern police use of new technologies, while defending the decision to use live facial recognition technology operationally without it

• February 25, 2020 25 Feb'20

  Julian Assange phoned White House to warn of risk to lives

  Julian Assange phoned the White House to warn officials that unredacted cables published on the web posed a risk to lives, a court heard yesterday

• February 25, 2020 25 Feb'20

  Boots to trial private e-prescriptions

  The pharmacy chain is trialling the service, underpinned by Doctor Care Anywhere technology, in 20 London stores