News

IT for government and public sector

May 07, 2021 07 May'21
Monmouthshire County Council digitises HR with Zellis cloud

Monmouthshire County Council is using a cloud HR system from Zellis as part of its digital transformation programme, aimed at being lean and agile
May 07, 2021 07 May'21
Minister promises ‘fair and speedy’ compensation for 555 subpostmasters who defeated Post Office

Government says it wants to ensure a fair pay-out for the 555 subpostmasters who defeated the Post Office in a legal battle but were then excluded from the resulting compensation scheme
May 06, 2021 06 May'21
Netherlands to build new national supercomputer

The Netherlands has laid out plans for its next national supercomputer, to be known as Snellius
May 05, 2021 05 May'21
Interview: ONS data science chief Tom Smith on government data capability

The managing director of the Office of National Statistics’ Data Science Campus, Tom Smith, describes the organisation’s data capability building activities for and across government

May 05, 2021 05 May'21
Post Office dishonesty in Horizon scandal is reason enough for statutory public inquiry

Subpostmasters, MPs and the public call for a full statutory judge-led public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal, following another damning court judgment
May 04, 2021 04 May'21
Government digital chiefs outline plans for CDDO and GDS

Paul Willmott, Joanna Davinson and Tom Read talk about establishing a digital, data and technology sub-board, plans to hire a chief technology officer and a chief data officer, and a five-year plan for the Government Digital Service
May 04, 2021 04 May'21
Shadow ministers call for public consultation on health data review

Two Labour shadow ministers want a public consultation following the findings of Ben Goldacre’s review on the use of health data for research and analysis
May 04, 2021 04 May'21
Tech firms unite to advance diversity and inclusion in the sector

The plan will focus on areas such as leadership representation and inclusive product development
May 04, 2021 04 May'21
Post Office CEO either knew what was going on in Horizon scandal, or was ‘asleep at the wheel’

Post Office IT scandal CEO has no excuse for her inaction in preventing the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history, says Criminal Cases Review Commission chairperson
April 30, 2021 30 Apr'21
EncroChat: Top lawyer warned CPS of risk that phone hacking warrants could be unlawful

Lord David Anderson QC warned prosecutors that there were formidable arguments against the lawfulness of a police operation to infiltrate the encrypted phone network, EncroChat

April 30, 2021 30 Apr'21
MPs accuse government of unduly interfering in information commissioner appointment

Cross-party group of MPs says government is influencing the appointment of a new information commissioner by explicitly seeking a candidate who will support its policy agenda, rather than regulate independently
April 30, 2021 30 Apr'21
Simon Bolton named as NHS Digital interim CEO

Following the announcement of Sarah Wilkinson’s departure as CEO of NHS Digital, the organisation has appointed NHS Test and Trace CIO Simon Bolton as interim CEO
April 29, 2021 29 Apr'21
Public sector organisations ‘in the dark’ about where their data is, suggests UKCloud survey

Response to a poll of public sector IT and business leaders suggests few have any idea if their data is stored in the cloud or on-premise, claims UKCloud
April 29, 2021 29 Apr'21
G7 countries to cooperate on digital regulation

Digital and technology ministers outline their agenda for how technology can be used to facilitate the post-Covid recovery, signalling closer collaboration in key areas of the digital economy
April 29, 2021 29 Apr'21
UK demand for digital automation skills soars

The need for automation proficiency has more than doubled in the past two years, according to research
April 29, 2021 29 Apr'21
GCHQ: Dyslexic thinkers key to solving UK cyber security challenges

Neurodiverse staff are bringing a unique contribution to keeping the country safe, according to the intelligence and cyber agency
April 28, 2021 28 Apr'21
NHS App to serve as vaccine passport for foreign holidays

Existing NHS App will have vaccine passport functionality added to it, transport secretary confirms
April 28, 2021 28 Apr'21
Government extends Gov.uk Verify for a further two years

The government’s Gov.uk Verify identity platform will continue to run until April 2023 while a new identity service is developed
April 27, 2021 27 Apr'21
UK supermarkets to trial age estimation tech for alcohol purchases

Biometric age estimation technology developed by Yoti to be tested in UK supermarkets for alcohol purchases as part of government-led digital identities initiative
April 27, 2021 27 Apr'21
Falkirk Council deploys end-to-end digital telecare

Council has become the first in Scotland to go live with a complete digital telecare service for its local residents
April 26, 2021 26 Apr'21
Another 38 subpostmasters submit appeals against convictions

The biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history is set to get bigger as more subpostmasters take their cases to the Court of Appeal
April 26, 2021 26 Apr'21
French legal challenge over EncroChat cryptophone hack could hit UK prosecutions

Lawyers are challenging the legality of a French police operation to harvest tens of thousands of messages from the EncroChat encrypted phone network in a move that could overturn criminal prosecutions in the UK
April 26, 2021 26 Apr'21
Digital tech potential in health and social care not yet realised, says King’s Fund

Report by health policy think-tank says that although there is evidence that digital technology can support staff and patients, there are large gaps in the evidence base
April 26, 2021 26 Apr'21
Post Office scandal CEO steps down from roles after massive miscarriage of justice is laid bare

Former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells has left roles in the church, Morrisons and Dunelm after postmasters’ convictions were overturned in the Court of Appeal
April 23, 2021 23 Apr'21
HMRC downplays significance of CEO email ‘questioning’ legal basis of loan charge policy

A document dump of emails shared between HMRC officials has prompted loan charge campaigners to further question the legal footing of the government’s controversial disguised remuneration policy
April 23, 2021 23 Apr'21
‘Spy cops’ victims share ongoing data protection concerns

Under Cover Policing Inquiry will consider whether the extensive amount of personal data collected about left-wing activists by the Special Demonstration Squad was justified, as witnesses question whether information about them is still being ...
April 23, 2021 23 Apr'21
Post Office scandal victims have criminal convictions overturned in Court of Appeal

Subpostmasters have their criminal convictions overturned after a judge rules that the Post Office prosecuted them without investigating computer errors
April 23, 2021 23 Apr'21
London mayoral candidates debate tech

The four mayoral candidates have set out their plans for the tech sector, including creating skills academies, harnessing kinetic energy, creating a London passport and setting up new tech hubs, but Tech London Advocates founder Russ Shaw says they ...
April 22, 2021 22 Apr'21
GCHQ: Cyber investment a guarantor of UK’s global status

GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming sets out a vision for the UK’s cyber security future
April 22, 2021 22 Apr'21
Department for Education publishes digital strategy

The department's digital and technology function wants to become a leader in the field, invest in its own platforms and manage its legacy technologies
April 21, 2021 21 Apr'21
NCSC offers teachers free cyber security training

The NCSC’s latest security training offer builds on a package of measures designed to protect schools from cyber attack
April 21, 2021 21 Apr'21
Government should do more to protect well-being in the digital world, says report

A select committee report argues that new health and employment rights are needed to tackle the negative effects of increasing digitisation
April 21, 2021 21 Apr'21
UK government renews cloud discount pricing MoU with Microsoft

Three-year deal ensures eligible public sector organisations can continue to access discounted pricing on a range of the tech giant's cloud software and infrastructure offerings
April 21, 2021 21 Apr'21
Ocado advances autonomous vehicle strategy with Oxbotica deal

The £10m investment is part of a push to enhance Ocado’s last-mile delivery and logistics capabilities, with first prototypes expected for 2023
April 20, 2021 20 Apr'21
Health app myGP adds Covid-19 vaccine passport function

The new feature is described as the UK’s first NHS-assured Covid-19 certification feature
April 20, 2021 20 Apr'21
Government launches plan for smart use of knowledge and innovation

Strategy sets out how Westminster can harness and achieve better value from £104bn worth of innovation and knowledge assets within central government
April 19, 2021 19 Apr'21
UK technology job creation nears two-year peak

Pace of recruitment accelerates and optimism reaches highest level since 2014, according to KPMG
April 19, 2021 19 Apr'21
Tech professionals most likely to see mental health decline due to pandemic

Struggling to cope with anxiety and new ways of working are among the problems workers in the sector face, study says
April 18, 2021 18 Apr'21
Government puts Facebook under pressure to stop end-to-end encryption over child abuse risks

Facebook faces growing government pressure to abandon its plans to offer users end-to-end encryption to secure the privacy of their messages as the NSPCC raises concerns about child protection
April 16, 2021 16 Apr'21
London tech manifesto calls on next mayor to support tech industry

The London tech manifesto, put together by several tech organisations, calls on the city’s next mayor to support tech companies, increase digital skills investment and tackle the lack of diversity in the sector
April 16, 2021 16 Apr'21
Finnish government strengthens country’s IT network security

Finland’s government has created a new national organisation to help public and private bodies improve network security
April 16, 2021 16 Apr'21
Sutton Council trials in-home sensor tech

The council is deploying sensors in the homes of vulnerable people to be able to detect when they might need help
April 15, 2021 15 Apr'21
Dutch accuse UK of ‘damaging confidence’ by disclosing details of EncroChat police collaboration

The Dutch Public Prosecution Service claims Britain has damaged confidence by disclosing details of an international investigation into the EncroChat encrypted phone network to the courts
April 15, 2021 15 Apr'21
Only government standing in the way of fair compensation for subpostmasters

The UK government is the only block to fair compensation for subpostmasters who were wrongly punished for accounting shortfalls
April 15, 2021 15 Apr'21
University of Hertfordshire is latest academic cyber attack victim

Multiple systems are offline at the University of Hertfordshire following a cyber attack
April 15, 2021 15 Apr'21
In-sourcing IT in Wales has provided a positive change, says auditor

While savings have not been as great as expected, the decision to in-source IT in Welsh government has been a success, according to Audit Wales
April 14, 2021 14 Apr'21
Tesco reports online sales surge, advances digital platform

Retailer announces 77% boost to e-commerce sales, details on Clubcard app uptake and advances in its IT remediation plan
April 14, 2021 14 Apr'21
Europe provides growth for TCS despite year floored by pandemic

Tata Consultancy Services grows its continental European business despite economic slowdown brought by Covid-19 restrictions
April 13, 2021 13 Apr'21
MP told to ditch official email over hacking fears

MP Tom Tugendhat claims the intelligence services advised him to switch to the Gmail service due to concerns his parliamentary email could be hacked
April 13, 2021 13 Apr'21
End of the road for Post Office IT system that destroyed lives

The Post Office has revealed the end to its controversial Horizon IT system which, through its errors and the Post Office's denial of them, caused huge suffering for hundreds of subpostmasters