News

IT for government and public sector

• February 25, 2020 25 Feb'20

  Government admits it was too passive managing Post Office as parliamentary pressure builds

  The UK government faces accusations of neglecting its duties handling the Post Office as pressure mounts in Parliament for justice for the subpostmasters who suffered due to faults in the Horizon IT system

• February 25, 2020 25 Feb'20

  Cyber criminals targeting UK motorists, warns DVLA

  Cyber criminals are offering various services and tax refunds that purport to be from the DVLA

• February 25, 2020 25 Feb'20

  Department for Education publishes tools to support learning at home

  The Department for Education publishes apps featuring innovations such as artificial intelligence aimed at helping parents to use technology to create positive learning environments

• February 24, 2020 24 Feb'20

  Assange extradition is a politically motivated ‘abuse of power’, court hears

  US government’s attempt to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges in the US is politically motivated and an abuse of process, court told

• February 24, 2020 24 Feb'20

  WikiLeaks founder Assange ‘put lives at risk’ by disclosing names in leaked documents, court hears

  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange ‘put lives of US informants at risk’ by publishing unredacted documents, lawyers for the US argued at the first day of a week-long extradition hearing

• February 24, 2020 24 Feb'20

  Estonia to give citizens Alexa-like access to public services

  The Estonian government is working on a project that will ultimately allow citizens to ask Siri, Alexa or almost any other virtual digital assistant to interact with government departments on their behalf

• February 24, 2020 24 Feb'20

  IR35 private sector reforms: First year of enforcement won't be ‘heavy-handed’, claims chancellor

  New chancellor Rishi Sunak has moved to assure business leaders that HMRC will not be heavy-handed in enforcing the new IR35 rules

• February 24, 2020 24 Feb'20

  Tech reaction to UK’s upcoming immigration rules

  The government has outlined its plans for a new points-based immigration system to ensure only skilled workers can enter the UK – but what does the technology sector think?

• February 23, 2020 23 Feb'20

  Australian government inks sourcing deal with Rimini Street

  The whole-of-government agreement will provide Australian government agencies with easier and cheaper access to third-party software support

• February 21, 2020 21 Feb'20

  Scotland to set up payments service for public sector

  Scottish government seeks supplier to work on beta phase of development

• February 20, 2020 20 Feb'20

  Executive interview: Making IT sustainable

  Defra recently reported that “cloud-first” IT strategies are driving green information and communications technology in government. This puts a greater emphasis on datacentre transparency

• February 20, 2020 20 Feb'20

  EU defies big tech firms and proposes single data market

  The European Commission outlines actions needed to enable the continent's digital success

• February 19, 2020 19 Feb'20

  EU puts up AI and data strategies with an ethical twist

  European Commission launches strategies for artificial intelligence and data economics, making the fight against climate change their raison d’être

• February 19, 2020 19 Feb'20

  Data sharing between private healthcare and NHS to move into new phase

  A consultation has been launched to seek views on the creation of a single source of healthcare data in England, with a series of pilots announced

• February 18, 2020 18 Feb'20

  US ‘breached due process’ in spying operation against Julian Assange’s lawyers

  Surveillance footage of Julian Assange’s meetings with lawyers and doctors in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London was an “abuse of process”

• February 18, 2020 18 Feb'20

  Swedish council tests virtual reality in care for vulnerable people

  Local authority is testing virtual reality technology to provide care services to vulnerable groups such elderly and disabled citizens

• February 17, 2020 17 Feb'20

  Government invests in tech to tackle traffic congestion

  Councils and SMEs will get a share of £1.5m government funding to work on trials aimed at improving driving conditions

• February 17, 2020 17 Feb'20

  Concerns raised over former Post Office CEO’s appointment at NHS trust under review

  Care Quality Commission to review concerns over Paula Vennells’ appointment after they were raised by a former NHS consultant psychiatrist

• February 17, 2020 17 Feb'20

  Met Office gets a decade of funding to update supercomputers

  As the UK goes through another storm battering, the Met Office has received a £1.2bn investment to power the next decade of weather forecasts

• February 14, 2020 14 Feb'20

  CIO Interview: Siim Sikkut, Estonian government CIO

  Siim Sikkut is one of a generation of tech native Estonians, who is turning his knowledge and experience to transforming government services

• February 14, 2020 14 Feb'20

  PM Johnson shuffles technology and digital ministers again

  Boris Johnson has changed all the key Cabinet appointments responsible for tech and digital policy for the second time since becoming prime minister last year

• February 14, 2020 14 Feb'20

  Calls for inquiry into Post Office IT scandal increase in Parliament, with cross-party support

  Many MPs might not yet fully understand the suffering subpostmasters have endured because of the Post Office’s faulty IT system and its oppressive behaviour, but they will soon

• February 12, 2020 12 Feb'20

  Half of technology workers want to find a new job in 2020

  Better pay and work/life balance are major reasons for tech workers to seek a new job, according to a new study

• February 12, 2020 12 Feb'20

  Adult social care organisations get £4.5m in funding for digital

  A group of 16 local authorities was selected to receive the grant from NHS Digital to fund digital projects for adult social care

• February 12, 2020 12 Feb'20

  Pressure for public inquiry into Post Office IT system scandal begins with mountain to climb

  Members of Parliament seeking a public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal face huge challenges, but pressure and time could force justice

• February 11, 2020 11 Feb'20

  MI5 failed to disclose failings in handling intercepted data, court hears

  MI5 failed to disclose serious failures in the way it handled intelligence data to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the surveillance regulator and ministers.

• February 10, 2020 10 Feb'20

  Two-thirds of workers at risk of robot-driven redundancy are unaware of the threat to jobs

  People who do jobs that are most likely to be automated through technology are unaware and unprepared of the impending threat to their livelihoods, with Nesta calling on the government to do more to up-skill those at risk

• February 10, 2020 10 Feb'20

  Scotland makes inroads in digital identity project

  The government has started building a prototype of what is planned to be a "user-centric" platform to access public services online

• February 10, 2020 10 Feb'20

  AI in public service must be accountable

  Committee on Standards in Public Life recommends that government departments make ethics a top priority when tendering artificial intelligence systems

• February 09, 2020 09 Feb'20

  Australian government to roll out SAP S/4 Hana

  Australia’s finance department earmarks S/4 Hana as its ERP system to provide common financial and HR services across government

• February 07, 2020 07 Feb'20

  IR35 private sector reforms: HMRC confirms last-minute tweak to incoming off-payroll rules

  The government is rolling out a tweak to the IR35 private sector reforms that it claims will give businesses more time to prepare, but stakeholders are unconvinced

• February 07, 2020 07 Feb'20

  NHS Digital appoints new CISO

  Pete Rose will also act as deputy chief executive at the IT partner for the National Health Service

• February 06, 2020 06 Feb'20

  Maastricht University pays €200,000 to Russian hackers

  A Dutch university has taken the difficult decision to pay hundreds of thousands of Euros to Russian hackers that compromised its systems through a ransomware attack

• February 06, 2020 06 Feb'20

  UK investigates drone use for search and rescue

  Maritime & Coastguard Agency will examine whether drones can be used to aid missions by visiting rescue sites

• February 05, 2020 05 Feb'20

  Digital sector contributes £400m a day to UK economy

  Sector is growing six times faster than economic growth overall, according to government figures

• February 05, 2020 05 Feb'20

  NHSX to mandate minimum technology spend for trusts

  Recent guidelines for NHSX sets out plans to define spending levels required so organisations can achieve digital aims

• February 04, 2020 04 Feb'20

  Social media targeting algorithms need regulation, says CDEI

  The Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation is recommending regulation of social media algorithms as part of a drive to make user targeting safe and ethical

• February 04, 2020 04 Feb'20

  MI5 faces court ruling over unlawful surveillance warrants

  Privacy groups Liberty and Privacy International ask the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to order MI5 to disclose full details of ‘unlawful’ conduct, after classified documents reveal the spy agency failed to comply with surveillance laws

• February 03, 2020 03 Feb'20

  Digital strategy for 2020-2030 sets out police technology plans

  National policing strategy sets a number of technological ambitions for the next decade, placing a particular emphasis on collaborative working and building common standards or frameworks

• February 03, 2020 03 Feb'20

  Government announces fast-track visa scheme for scientists and researchers

  Government also removes cap on the number of people who can enter the UK via the Exceptional Talent route

• February 03, 2020 03 Feb'20

  Government refuses request to pay legal costs for subpostmasters in Post Office case

  The government has refused to pay the huge legal costs subpostmasters incurred in their battle with the government-owned Post Office, which they won

• February 03, 2020 03 Feb'20

  NHS adds supplier security audits to procurement platform

  A new feature in the NHS’s Edge4Health procurement platform will help NHS suppliers improve their cyber security posture and NHS organisations make better buying decisions

• February 03, 2020 03 Feb'20

  NHSX appoints new chief technology officer

  David Turner will join the digital unit of the National Health Service in May 2020

• January 31, 2020 31 Jan'20

  Estonian CIO gives UK IT professionals hope as Brexit removes rights

  Tech chief says Estonia’s door is open to UK IT professionals if they want to continue enjoying an EU lifestyle

• January 31, 2020 31 Jan'20

  Davos: The clock is ticking on climate change but cyber crime and emerging technologies add to risks

  Climate change, natural disasters, extreme weather and loss of biodiversity are the greatest risks we face. With cyber conflicts, state-sponsored hacking and internet fragmentation, doing nothing is not an option, says the World Economic Forum

• January 31, 2020 31 Jan'20

  Harvey Nash hires first female CEO

  Beverley White takes over as Albert Ellis steps down after 14 years leading the IT recruitment and services firm

• January 31, 2020 31 Jan'20

  UK’s Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa system ‘does not work well’, says MAC

  During a review of whether the government should introduce a points-based system for migration, the Migration Advisory Committee claims the current Tier 1 system for exceptional talent is not fit for purpose

• January 30, 2020 30 Jan'20

  Northern Rail will trial tech to tackle overcrowding

  Troubled operator Northern Rail will attempt to improve services by using technology as it is brought under government control

• January 30, 2020 30 Jan'20

  UKCloud moots multi-cloud as a way to speed up public sector cloud adoption

  Contributors to UKCloud's public sector-focused State of Cloud Adoption report flag barriers to using off-premise technologies, but could adopting a multi-cloud strategy assist with overcoming them?

• January 30, 2020 30 Jan'20

  Sorting out the Dutch government’s IT mess

  Tech experts discuss the challenges and potential solutions to the Netherlands government’s IT problems

• January 29, 2020 29 Jan'20

  UK cyber security sector worth more than £8bn

  The UK’s cyber security industry employs 43,000 full-time workers, and contributed nearly £4bn to the UK economy in 2019, according to DCMS

• January 29, 2020 29 Jan'20

  CTO interview: Juan Villamil discusses changing IT culture

  Juan Villamil has worked at the Department for Work and Pensions for nearly five years. As he heads off to take up a new challenge at Imperial College, we speak to him about change and transformation

• January 29, 2020 29 Jan'20

  Government creates AI playbook for the public sector

  Wide-ranging advice is provided in a guide that covers all stages of projects, from evaluation through to post-implementation

• January 28, 2020 28 Jan'20

  Met Police could deploy facial recognition against protesters

  Live facial recognition will be rolled out operationally by the Met Police, but police monitoring group Netpol believes it will hamper people’s ability to exercise their rights to protest

• January 28, 2020 28 Jan'20

  Subpostmaster prosecutions move closer to appeal

  Prosecutions are a significant step closer to being sent to the Court of Appeal as Criminal Courts Review Commission forms a group of commissioners to review them

• January 27, 2020 27 Jan'20

  Police sent information about potential Fujitsu staff perjury in subpostmaster prosecutions

  The police have been asked to consider information from a High Court judge questioning evidence given by Fujitsu staff in criminal trials of Post Office subpostmasters

• January 27, 2020 27 Jan'20

  NHSX reports progress in screening transformation

  Digital unit outlines work that has been done to address the shortcomings of screening IT programmes

• January 27, 2020 27 Jan'20

  UK teachers want more computers in schools

  As well as equipment, a priority is to increase the provision of training for teachers in the use of technology, according to a new study

• January 27, 2020 27 Jan'20

  Met Police to launch facial recognition operationally

  Despite the continuing controversy around its use, the Metropolitan Police will be deploying live facial recognition across the capital

• January 24, 2020 24 Jan'20

  UK firms lack skills to make AI work, employees claim

  Research finds employees are concerned about being blamed for tech blunders, with those fears increasing resistance towards artificial intelligence technology

• January 22, 2020 22 Jan'20

  Government should not be allowed to dismiss subpostmasters’ claims over Horizon IT scandal

  Subpostmasters are stepping up their fight for justice after their huge court victory, with Westminister replacing the High Court as the battleground

• January 21, 2020 21 Jan'20

  IR35 private sector reforms: Recruitment industry urges chancellor to halt April 2020 roll-out

  Major players from the UK recruitment industry want the government to delay plans to roll out the IR35 reforms to the private sector so enterprises have more time to prepare

• January 21, 2020 21 Jan'20

  Loan charge under review: HMRC to invest £200,000 in readying IT systems for planned policy changes

  Tax collection agency counts costs of having to upgrade IT systems to prepare for incoming changes to its controversial loan charge disguised remuneration policy, which has left thousands of IT contractors facing financial ruin

• January 21, 2020 21 Jan'20

  Nicky Morgan says new government will be pro-tech

  DCMS minister outlines five key ways the government aims to support technology going forward, including being “unashamedly” pro-tech

• January 21, 2020 21 Jan'20

  High-tech firms provide boost to consulting industry

  Data privacy and the shift to service-based models are some of the areas where companies such as Google and Apple are turning to consultants for support, according to a new report

• January 20, 2020 20 Jan'20

  UK government strengthens ties with African tech firms

  Plans announced to develop startups in Africa as part of the announcements around the first UK-Africa investment summit

• January 20, 2020 20 Jan'20

  NHS Digital launches login toolkit

  Self-service package can be integrated into healthcare apps and platforms

• January 20, 2020 20 Jan'20

  Norway’s government to upgrade digital in school curriculum

  Primary and secondary schools in Norway will introduce more digital learning, following the latest government reforms

• January 17, 2020 17 Jan'20

  Cabinet Office launches data handling review

  Oliver Dowden issues statement explaining the New Year Honours list leak and announces new practices after the publication of personal details of over 1,000 public figures

• January 17, 2020 17 Jan'20

  NHS SBS launches consumer-style procurement hub

  NHS Shared Business Services’ cloud marketplace The Edge4Health kicks off with four major NHS organisations to transform the way the health service buys products and services

• January 16, 2020 16 Jan'20

  UK’s phone and internet bulk data surveillance unlawful, says EU court opinion

  The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice issues legal opinions finding that the UK, French and Belgian bulk surveillance regimes are unlawful

• January 15, 2020 15 Jan'20

  Loan charge under review: IT contractors slam government's planned policy revamp

  The IT contractor community shares its verdict on the UK government's plans to revamp its controversial loan charge policy, which has left thousands of people facing life-changing tax bills and financial ruin

• January 15, 2020 15 Jan'20

  AWS to request temporary halt to Microsoft’s work on $10bn JEDI cloud contract

  Amazon to file temporary restraining order with the US federal court to prevent Microsoft undertaking any substantial work relating to its delivery of US government’s JEDI cloud contract

• January 15, 2020 15 Jan'20

  Dasa awards AI warship contracts

  First wave of £4m funding aims to transform defence platforms and tackle issues such as information overload faced by crews

• January 14, 2020 14 Jan'20

  Why subpostmasters are calling on the government to pay Horizon trial costs

  The damages that subpostmasters will receive after their court victory against the Post Office fall well short of their calculated losses

• January 14, 2020 14 Jan'20

  IfG warns systems needed after Brexit transition are “impossible to deliver”

  The IT required to be operational after December 2020 is almost certainly undeliverable, according to Institute for Government report

• January 13, 2020 13 Jan'20

  UK urged to take centre stage in global digital trade

  Trade association TechUK sets out vision to liberalise digital trade policy, under principles such as the opposition to data localisation in exchange for market access to fend off the trend towards digital protectionism

• January 10, 2020 10 Jan'20

  Subpostmaster group calls for government to pay legal costs for Horizon trial

  The group of subpostmasters that defeated the Post Office in court over a faulty IT system are calling for the government to pay the costs of the legal action

• January 09, 2020 09 Jan'20

  New Cabinet Office junior minister takes over GDS duties

  Jeremy Quin is the seventh minister to be responsible for the digital service since Francis Maude's departure in 2015

• January 08, 2020 08 Jan'20

  Sadiq Khan calls for evolution of London Datastore

  As the initiative reaches its 10th anniversary, City Hall wants data to be a key tool in tackling the capital's challenges and outlines future opportunities

• January 08, 2020 08 Jan'20

  Half of UK citizens want tighter data regulations

  Over 50% of UK citizens believe the gathering and use of personal data should be subject to more stringent government oversight, according to Fujitsu

• January 08, 2020 08 Jan'20

  Fujitsu must face scrutiny following Post Office Horizon trial judgment

  While the Post Office has suffered financial and reputational damage after losing its court battle with subpostmasters, the supplier of the IT system at the centre of the dispute has major PR challenges ahead

• January 07, 2020 07 Jan'20

  Bus open data portal to go live in January 2020

  The service will start by publishing route and timetable data and will evolve to provide fare and real-time location data in 2021

• January 07, 2020 07 Jan'20

  Met Police to upgrade command and control system

  Metropolitan Police Service signs Leidos to renew command and control setup under a 10-year programme

• January 06, 2020 06 Jan'20

  Highways England uses robot to speed up roadworks

  A machine equipped with precise positioning technology carried out, in a few hours, road marking work that usually takes a week

• January 06, 2020 06 Jan'20

  Iran likely to hit back with cyber attacks, security experts warn

  The possibility of cyber attack by threat groups acting on behalf of the Iranian government has dramatically increased following US actions in Iraq

• January 06, 2020 06 Jan'20

  UK cyber security boss Ciaran Martin to step down

  NCSC chief Ciaran Martin will leave his post in the summer of 2020

• January 03, 2020 03 Jan'20

  Cummings issues recruitment call for data scientists to reshape Whitehall

  Government’s most senior adviser appeals to data scientists to step forward to refashion how the UK state works

• January 02, 2020 02 Jan'20

  Call for former Post Office CEO to step down from public roles after IT court battle lost

  Conservative peer is calling for former Post Office CEO to step down from high-profile public roles for her part in Horizon IT scandal

• December 31, 2019 31 Dec'19

  UK satellite data to spearhead fight against climate change

  The Universities of Edinburgh and Leeds have joined forces in a £5m government-backed programme to use satellite data to combat climate change

• December 31, 2019 31 Dec'19

  Top 10 NHS stories of 2019

  Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 NHS stories of 2019

• December 30, 2019 30 Dec'19

  Top 10 enterprise IT in the Benelux region stories of 2019

  Here are Computer Weekly’s top enterprise IT stories from the Benelux region over the past year

• December 30, 2019 30 Dec'19

  Top 10 government IT stories of 2019

  Computer Weekly looks back at the main stories related to government IT this year

• December 24, 2019 24 Dec'19

  Former Post Office CEO apologises to subpostmasters over Horizon scandal

  Subpostmasters criticise former CEO’s apology for their suffering as “too little, too late”

• December 20, 2019 20 Dec'19

  National Federation of Subpostmasters cries foul after court ruling on controversial computer system

  The National Federation of Subpostmasters said it was misled by the Post Office about the robustness of the IT systems its members use

• December 20, 2019 20 Dec'19

  Finnish government supports local authorities in cyber security initiative

  The Finnish government has committed resources to a cyber security project aimed at local authorities

• December 19, 2019 19 Dec'19

  Home Office details seven-point plan to cutting its Immigration Technology team's cloud costs by 40%

  The Home Office has revealed how its Immigration Technology team cut cloud costs through spot and reserved instances, scheduling, auto-scaling and encouraging developers to spring clean test environments

• December 19, 2019 19 Dec'19

  Criminal Courts Review Commission to review Horizon judgment ‘swiftly’

  The CCRC’s review of potentially unfair prosecutions of subpostmasters is just one of the unresolved issues in in relation to subpostmasters’ battle with the Post Office over its faulty IT system

• December 18, 2019 18 Dec'19

  HM Treasury mulls loan charge review findings, but will not confirm public release date

  Contractor community frustrated by lack of concrete release date for review as loan charge settlement date of 31 January 2020 looms

• December 18, 2019 18 Dec'19

  How Saudi Arabia plans to become the Silicon Valley of the Middle East

  With its young and educated population, Saudi Arabia has the potential to become a hub for tech innovation