News

IT for government and public sector

• 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

• 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