News

IT for government and public sector

June 01, 2020 01 Jun'20
UK-Ireland frictionless border tech far from ready, EU Select Committee finds

The government has promised a frictionless UK-Ireland border, but currently technology only has the capacity to mitigate rather than eliminate friction, and the government’s technical advisory group on the border seems to be on hiatus
June 01, 2020 01 Jun'20
Coronavirus: Government under renewed pressure to ramp up support for limited company directors

Chancellor of the Exchequer's announced extensions of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme prompt renewed calls for more tailored financial support for limited companies
June 01, 2020 01 Jun'20
Councils don't have a consistent view of cyber security, says report

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government releases findings around security perceptions of local authorities
May 29, 2020 29 May'20
Test and Trace has not passed data protection impact assessment

Public Health England failed to complete the required impact assessment before launching the Covid-19 Test and Trace programme

May 29, 2020 29 May'20
UK to join Covid-19 High-Performance Computing consortium

UK becomes first country outside the US to join group enabling researchers and scientists to access top supercomputers to help their work on the coronavirus
May 28, 2020 28 May'20
IT contractors hit by delays in Covid-19 furlough scheme payments from umbrella companies

A lack of clarity over how Covid-19-related furlough pay calculations should be totalled up for IT contractors working for umbrella companies has left many facing financial hardship, it is claimed
May 28, 2020 28 May'20
Departments launch 69 services on Gov.uk during coronavirus pandemic

During the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, government departments have launched 69 online customer facing services on Gov.uk, with another 46 on track to be delivered
May 28, 2020 28 May'20
UK government seeks innovations to tackle space debris

Organisations developing solutions in space surveillance and tracking will be able to bid for a share of a £1m funding pot
May 27, 2020 27 May'20
Revealed: Surveillance camera network that covered Dominic Cummings’ lockdown travel

A network of automatic number plate recognition and local authority traffic cameras could help police track Downing Street chief of staff Dominic Cummings’ journeys to Durham and Barnard Castle during the Covid-19 lockdown
May 27, 2020 27 May'20
Subpostmasters crowdfund for justice in IT scandal

Campaign group calls for public support to help potential victims of Post Office Horizon IT scandal

May 26, 2020 26 May'20
900 more criminal prosecutions of subpostmasters could be unsafe because of IT failures

Post Office re-examines hundreds of prosecutions that could have resulted from faults in Horizon IT system
May 21, 2020 21 May'20
UK government spent over £50m on digital response to Covid-19 pandemic

NAO report outlines public spending on responding to the coronavirus crisis, which also includes a £1.2bn hit from delaying controversial IR35 tax reforms
May 21, 2020 21 May'20
Cheshire deploys digital child health system during lockdown

Commissioning support unit joins up records of children across county into one integrated digital system, despite pandemic challenges
May 21, 2020 21 May'20
Facial-recognition suppliers race to identify hidden faces

The number of companies claiming to have developed facial-recognition tools that can identify masked faces has skyrocketed since the start of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic
May 21, 2020 21 May'20
Coronavirus: Dutch work on XR technology shows promise in pandemic scenario

Netherlands leads the way in the development of extended reality technology, which could prove its value in a crisis such as Covid-19
May 20, 2020 20 May'20
Government eyes virtual reality projects with new funding

Investment increases in competition aimed at fast-tracking development of innovations arising from the coronavirus crisis
May 20, 2020 20 May'20
Coronavirus: NHSX enlists military innovation hub for Covid-19 app project

Organisations will work together to gather and share coronavirus symptom data from third-party tracker apps
May 20, 2020 20 May'20
Serco exposes contact tracers’ data in email error

Error saw almost 300 coronavirus contact tracers’ email addresses made visible to other recipients of the message
May 19, 2020 19 May'20
Post Office executive who tried to mislead judge in Horizon trial leaves via back door

Angela van den Bogerd leaves position as Post Office director quietly, despite many years of service
May 19, 2020 19 May'20
Scotland calls on tech companies to help build a digital nation

Trade body launches challenge for tech firms to contribute ideas to create a “critical national digital infrastructure” for Scotland
May 19, 2020 19 May'20
Innovate UK seeks ways to transform aviation with technology

Projects to develop new forms of air transportation can get a share of up to £30m in funding from Innovate UK
May 18, 2020 18 May'20
Privacy advocates demand clarity over Covid-19 datastore

Government and NHS face questions about the involvement of private technology companies with coronavirus datastore
May 18, 2020 18 May'20
NHS Scotland begins contact-tracing tech pilot

Three Scottish health boards are trialling coronavirus contact-tracing software which will be rolled out across the country at the end of this month
May 18, 2020 18 May'20
NHS looks for remote monitoring tech

NHSX is seeking suppliers to help scale up remote monitoring across the health service in England, particularly for Covid-19 patients, and will go out to tender shortly
May 18, 2020 18 May'20
CIO interview: Simon Liste, chief information technology officer, Pension Protection Fund

Experience of delivering digital change in the private sector means the PPF’s IT chief is well positioned to lead transformation in a critical public sector organisation
May 18, 2020 18 May'20
HMRC on the hunt for permanent CDIO

New chief digital and information officer will earn at least £200,000 a year and be responsible for a £1bn tech budget
May 15, 2020 15 May'20
Interview: Bev White, chief executive, Harvey Nash

The Harvey Nash executive talks about recruitment during the coronavirus crisis, a new wave of interest in outsourcing, and leadership skills and challenges
May 15, 2020 15 May'20
Government pushes towards digital to reignite housing market

Minister calls for more virtual viewings and greater use of online tools for planning as the UK prepares to get its housing and construction sector up and running again
May 14, 2020 14 May'20
Harman seeks to bring private member’s bill over contact tracing

Chair of Human Rights Committee aims to put the proposed Contact Tracing (Data Protection) Bill 2020 before parliament as a private member’s bill if necessary
May 13, 2020 13 May'20
Government tells social media companies they must go further to address disinformation

House of Lords committee hears about government collaboration with social media firms to combat pandemic-related disinformation and online harms
May 12, 2020 12 May'20
MPs take part in first live test of remote voting during Covid-19 debate

MPs will use phones and computers to vote from their homes in a House of Commons debate today in the biggest change in parliamentary procedure for 150 years
May 12, 2020 12 May'20
Police failing to consult public on new technologies

A freedom of information campaign has revealed that UK police are largely failing to consult the public on their use of new technologies, with the potential to undermine the principle of policing by consent
May 12, 2020 12 May'20
Government launches online portal to arrange coronavirus testing kits for care homes

UK care homes are now able to digitally arrange deliveries of Covid-19 test kits through the launch of an online portal
May 11, 2020 11 May'20
How Sage scrambled software development team for Job Retention Scheme module

Small team of Sage developers, testers and payroll specialists in race against time to help customers facilitate HMRC’s furlough scheme
May 11, 2020 11 May'20
Scottish government launches tech sector review

Review, to be led by former Skyscanner COO Mark Logan, will look at how tech sector can help Scotland’s economy recover from Covid-19
May 07, 2020 07 May'20
HM Treasury tells GDS: No further online services can use Gov.uk Verify

The recent 18-month reprieve for Verify came with strict conditions – the digital identity scheme must not be added to any more services, and existing users must find alternatives
May 07, 2020 07 May'20
App launched to support social care workers through coronavirus

The Care Workforce tool will be rolled out to 1.5 million professionals as a hub for practical guidance and support
May 07, 2020 07 May'20
Facebook announces oversight board members

New board will rule on freedom of expression issues and make policy recommendations to social media giant.
May 07, 2020 07 May'20
FBI search warrants reveal Trump aide’s messages to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

FBI search warrants reveal Trump campaigner Roger Stone sent private messages to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after the site published thousands of documents that damaged Hillary Clinton’s election campaign
May 06, 2020 06 May'20
Criminal justice system is failing cyber crime victims

Victims of cyber crime face barriers to reporting, receiving support and achieving justice, says a Home Office-backed study
May 06, 2020 06 May'20
Re-purposing data and questionable effectiveness could undermine trust in NHS contact-tracing app

Experts call for greater clarity over how contact-tracing data will be used, while discussing the limitations of the coronavirus app
May 06, 2020 06 May'20
HMRC tackles almost 300 coronavirus phishing websites

Of 292 websites removed since lockdown began on 23 March, 237 were proactively identified by HMRC and 55 were flagged by the public
May 05, 2020 05 May'20
EC calls on the UK to ensure UK-Ireland border customs IT systems are ready

The European Commission has warned that the UK must be ready for IT systems implementation at the Northern Ireland/Ireland border to handle goods
May 04, 2020 04 May'20
Assange extradition hearing to take place in September following coronavirus lockdown

An extradition hearing against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been delayed by four months, after defence and prosecution lawyers said the Covid-19 lockdown would make it impractical to hold a fair hearing in May
May 04, 2020 04 May'20
Coronavirus: UK finance regulator gives more time for payment security compliance

Financial Conduct Authority has extended the deadline for payment processors to meet payment security standard
May 01, 2020 01 May'20
Treasury gives Gov.uk Verify 18-month reprieve due to coronavirus

The government's troubled digital identity system was due to end funding in April 2020 but surge in use due to Universal Credit applications has brought a temporary reprieve
May 01, 2020 01 May'20
No going back to packed workplaces after Covid-19

A recent project by IT service providers outlines how, in a post-coronavirus world, businesses like Barclays Bank will reduce their reliance on skyscrapers packed with people
May 01, 2020 01 May'20
Subpostmasters receive their ‘inadequate’ damages over Horizon IT scandal

Subpostmasters who had their lives ruined by the Post Office’s faulty IT system have received their damages after a High Court victory
May 01, 2020 01 May'20
HMCTS deploys video platform for remote hearings during Covid-19

Magistrates’ and crown courts will use platform to conduct remote criminal hearings during the coronavirus pandemic
April 30, 2020 30 Apr'20
Coronavirus: UKCloud and VMware join forces to meet public sector demand for remote desktops

Public sector-focused IaaS provider UKCloud forges closer ties with VMware to meet the public sector demand for “government-grade” remote desktop technology