News

IT for government and public sector

• July 21, 2020 21 Jul'20

  HMRC extends Making Tax Digital programme

  Programme to be extended gradually until April 2023 to cover business below the VAT threshold and income tax self-assessments above £10,000 a year

• July 20, 2020 20 Jul'20

  Covid-19 outbreak ramps up data focus at LOTI

  The boroughs working in local government coalition LOTI are focusing on joining up and acting on data-driven insights to help communities through the crisis and beyond

• July 20, 2020 20 Jul'20

  Government launches fintech review

  Sector review, first touted in the 2020 Budget, aims to find ways to boost competitiveness and growth

• July 20, 2020 20 Jul'20

  DVLA makes technological progress

  Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has introduced a 24/7 chatbot, modernised its core IT network and is prototyping robotic process automation

• July 17, 2020 17 Jul'20

  Unesco launches global consultation on AI ethics

  The United Nations (UN) body opens up public consultation to help experts draft new global framework on artificial intelligence ethics

• July 17, 2020 17 Jul'20

  Government gives £24m boost to agricultural tech

  Nine agricultural technology projects are receiving government funding to create more efficient food production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

• July 17, 2020 17 Jul'20

  Lockdown sparks interest in digital skills for 58% of adults

  Adults in the UK are becoming increasingly interested in digital skills, with over 80% saying they will become even more important over the next year

• July 16, 2020 16 Jul'20

  Loan charge: Government dashes hopes of revised down settlements for contractors

  HMRC and HM Treasury confirm there are no plans to alter the loan charge settlement terms, despite calls from cross-party MPs to consider doing so

• July 16, 2020 16 Jul'20

  Public sector not considering the elderly in development of digital services

  A study by software firm Civica found public sector leaders have admitted to not targeting digital services at those over 70, despite many people this age claiming to use digital technology

• July 16, 2020 16 Jul'20

  Russian state hackers attacking Covid-19 researchers

  Kremlin-linked APT29 group, also known as Cozy Bear, is conducting a campaign against Covid-19 researchers around the world

• July 16, 2020 16 Jul'20

  IR35 private sector reforms: Government response to Finance Bill Sub-Committee inquiry slammed

  Contracting stakeholders claim HMRC and HM Treasury are ‘burying their heads in the sand’ over impact IR35 reforms are set to have on the private sector

• July 16, 2020 16 Jul'20

  Schrems v Facebook: European court strikes down EU-US Privacy Shield agreement

  The European Court of Justice has struck down Privacy Shield, the EU-US data-sharing agreement, creating uncertainty for European countries that share data with the US and pressuring the US to reform surveillance laws

• July 16, 2020 16 Jul'20

  Gov.uk Verify sees surge during Covid-19 outbreak but remains unachievable

  The government's flagship identity service and over half of the 26 major IT projects led by the government bear highest risks and are unlikely to be completed, according to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.

• July 16, 2020 16 Jul'20

  Room for improvement in Dutch digital skills

  The Netherlands has good telecommunications and IT networks that can be used safely and reliably, but there is room for improvement in digital skills among the Dutch

• July 15, 2020 15 Jul'20

  Defra releases sustainable IT strategy

  Defra’s sustainable IT strategy seeks to help government and private organisations maximise the benefits of sustainability, with an overall mission to ‘leave the environment in a better state than we found it’

• July 15, 2020 15 Jul'20

  Overseas IT directors could need salary of £56,100 to work in the UK

  The government has confirmed the salaries it considers as the ‘going rate’ for tech professions, which overseas applicants will need to earn to gain immigration points

• July 15, 2020 15 Jul'20

  Huge declines in traditional outsourcing as Covid-19 puts a stop on deals

  Traditional IT outsourcing deals value plummets in the last quarter as contracts dry up amid Covid-19 disruption

• July 15, 2020 15 Jul'20

  University graduates to Nutanix Files hyper-converged NAS

  The University of Reading had already deployed Nutanix hyper-converged infrastructure so it made sense to add Nutanix Files when its ageing NAS boxes bit the dust

• July 14, 2020 14 Jul'20

  European court to decide legality of EU-US data sharing in dispute between Schrems and Facebook

  A ruling by the European Court of Justice will have ramifications for hundreds of thousands of companies that share data with the US. The case aims to balance US surveillance laws with the rights of EU citizens to keep their data private

• July 14, 2020 14 Jul'20

  Government pumps more than £100m into border IT systems

  HMRC will get more than £100m for border IT systems as part of a £705m government funding package for infrastructure, jobs and technology post-Brexit

• July 14, 2020 14 Jul'20

  Subpostmasters hit funding target to prevent government from burying IT scandal

  The government is set to face scrutiny over its involvement in the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, described as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in modern UK history

• July 10, 2020 10 Jul'20

  Universal Credit still struggles with digital issues, says NAO

  The cost of rolling out Universal Credit continues to rise, while only 20% of new claimants attempt to verify their identity online and digital skills remain an issue, according to the National Audit Office

• July 09, 2020 09 Jul'20

  NHS North West London boosts analytics use during Covid-19 outbreak

  A collaboration of NHS hospitals and health organisations in London is enhancing the use of data to improve their response to coronavirus

• July 09, 2020 09 Jul'20

  NHS trust uses case management software to deliver time savings

  To deal with inefficient and unreliable processes, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Trust has implemented a case management system specifically designed for HR practitioners

• July 09, 2020 09 Jul'20

  Clearview AI faces ICO investigation over facial recognition

  Controversial company that scraped data from the public internet to build its facial recognition algorithm faces a joint UK-Australian investigation into its practices

• July 09, 2020 09 Jul'20

  Matt Hancock encourages private sector involvement in post-pandemic NHS technology

  Health secretary Matt Hancock has outlined how the NHS will continue to leverage digital technologies with the help of the private sector after the Covid-19 pandemic ends

• July 08, 2020 08 Jul'20

  Political awareness needed to ethically handle migration data, panel claims

  Understanding the political, social and economic relationships between different groups in society is needed to ensure location data is not used in ways that further endanger already vulnerable people on the move

• July 08, 2020 08 Jul'20

  Post Office scandal victims have days to raise thousands of pounds or perpetrators go scot-free

  Victims of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal need to raise thousands of pounds in a week or those responsible for their suffering will avoid scrutiny

• July 03, 2020 03 Jul'20

  Green tech needed for post-Covid economic recovery

  Green technology investments could help society recover from the coronavirus – and prepare it for the long-term negative social and economic outcomes of climate change

• July 03, 2020 03 Jul'20

  DWP publishes digital delivery results and cost of IT blunders

  DWP released a number of updates of its digital transformation work including several initiatives relating to the Covid-19 outbreak, and reported more than £10m sunk in failed IT projects

• July 02, 2020 02 Jul'20

  Loan charge MPs denied House of Commons vote on Finance Bill policy amendments

  Despite securing the support of 50 named MPs, an amendment to the forthcoming Finance Bill that could have seen thousands of people fall out of scope of the Loan Charge policy has been denied

• July 02, 2020 02 Jul'20

  Cops take out encrypted comms to disrupt organised crime

  The UK’s National Crime Agency, alongside other law enforcement agencies in France and the Netherlands, have busted illicit arms and drugs rings after disabling an encrypted comms platform

• July 02, 2020 02 Jul'20

  Police secrecy over ‘IMSI-catcher’ mass surveillance of mobile phones

  Following a tribunal ruling, constabularies in England and Wales can refuse to confirm or deny whether they use mass surveillance devices, known as IMSI-catchers to monitor people’s location, phone calls and text messages

• July 02, 2020 02 Jul'20

  Civil and family courts to get video platform for remote hearings

  Video platform that has been used in magistrates’ and crown courts during the coronavirus pandemic will be extended to civil and family courts

• July 02, 2020 02 Jul'20

  CMA calls on government to revamp regulations for tech giants

  Competition regulator says current laws are not fit for purpose and wants a new, ‘pro-competition regulatory regime’ that the likes of Google and Facebook must abide by

• July 01, 2020 01 Jul'20

  Equity in STEM education more important than ever, says Parliamentary group

  All-Party Parliamentary Group on Diversity and Inclusion in STEM suggests recommendations for increasing equity in education after stating coronavirus makes diversity increasingly important

• July 01, 2020 01 Jul'20

  UK government announces Office for Talent

  The Office for Talent is part of a research and development roadmap, which includes an innovation programme to accelerate innovation in government

• July 01, 2020 01 Jul'20

  Lenovo, top-of-the-world Chinese supercomputer supplier, sweeps all markets

  Supercomputers are not just about computing power, they are a symbol of political ambition. Chinese supercomputer supplier Lenovo is now the dominant supplier across the world

• June 30, 2020 30 Jun'20

  Australia to invest a record A$1.35bn in cyber security

  The Australian government is making its largest ever investment in cyber security over the next decade to identify cyber threats, disrupt foreign cyber criminals and build new capabilities

• June 30, 2020 30 Jun'20

  HMRC and Treasury accused of ‘direct interference’ in independent loan charge review

  Loan Charge All-Party Parliamentary Group report pours scorn on claims that December 2019 review of government’s disguised renumeration policy was conducted independently

• June 30, 2020 30 Jun'20

  Government expands Future Fund eligibility criteria

  The Future Fund will now be accessible to startups that have previously taken part in accelerator programmes, but early-stage firms continue to struggle

• June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20

  MPs urged to back Finance Bill amendments to loan charge policy

  Loan Charge Action Group urges its members to ask their MPs to support an amendment to the controversial loan charge policy that could see more people fall outside its scope

• June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20

  Lawyers learn of fresh US allegations against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from press reports

  The US has filed an updated indictment against Julian Assange alleging that he conspired with hacking groups to obtain information for WikiLeaks. Defence and prosecution lawyers learned about it from press reports

• June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20

  MPs to examine fairness of private prosecutions in light of Post Office IT scandal

  Parliamentary Justice Committee to hold short inquiry into the rules and regulations surrounding private organisations’ ability to initiate criminal proceedings

• June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20

  Lords urge government to take immediate action on online harms

  Select committee calls for tech giants to be held responsible for the harm done to individuals, wider society and democratic processes through online misinformation

• June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20

  UKCloud signs MoU with CCS to provide public sector with discounted cloud pricing

  Public sector-focused IaaS firm UKCloud has become the latest supplier to sign a discounted pricing deal with the UK government

• June 26, 2020 26 Jun'20

  CBI: Government must take steps to drive SME business innovation

  The coronavirus pandemic has shown how much can be achieved in a short period with a strong partnership between government and industry – and this needs to continue

• June 25, 2020 25 Jun'20

  NHSX seeks evolution of digital transformation capabilities

  New approaches and team structures could be tested as a result of learnings from the work around Covid-19

• June 25, 2020 25 Jun'20

  Former Post Office CEO and Fujitsu play the blame game in Horizon IT scandal

  Post Office and Fujitsu blame each other for many of the failings in the Horizon IT scandal that wrecked lives

• June 25, 2020 25 Jun'20

  CBI: UK needs an immigration and training rethink

  For the UK to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, vast swathes of the population will need retraining – and overseas IT specialists will also be needed