News

IT for government and public sector

September 17, 2020 17 Sep'20
DWP accelerates digital transformation amid Covid-19 crisis

The Department for Work and Pensions has released an update of the efforts made in the past six months across key digital services, with progress accelerating due to the pandemic
September 17, 2020 17 Sep'20
Loan charge under review: Government’s tax policy set to be challenged under EU law

A fresh attempt to judicially review the government’s controversial disguised remuneration policy is being launched, and its backers have already secured 85% of the £180,000 needed to test whether the loan charge breaches EU law
September 17, 2020 17 Sep'20
Assange revelations among most important in US history, says Daniel Ellsberg

Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked highly classified documents that changed the course of the Vietnam War in the 1970s, says WikiLeaks exposed a serious pattern of US war crimes
September 16, 2020 16 Sep'20
NCSC steps up ransomware support for schools and universities

New alert and updated guidance comes after several academic institutions were targeted in ransomware attacks

September 16, 2020 16 Sep'20
Banks report surge in impersonation scams

Fraudsters are using the Covid-19 crisis to trick people into transferring money to them
September 16, 2020 16 Sep'20
Singapore partners Apple on LumiHealth

Singapore’s Health Promotion Board has developed a programme with Apple to encourage healthy living following a similar partnership with Fitbit last year
September 15, 2020 15 Sep'20
Data of every Welsh Covid-19 patient leaked online

Data on all 18,105 people in Wales who have received positive tests for the coronavirus was uploaded to a public-facing web server in error
September 14, 2020 14 Sep'20
Julian Assange faces solitary confinement if extradited, court hears

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be held under special administrative measures if extradited to the US, said Eric Lewis, a US legal expert, effectively placing him in solitary confinement
September 14, 2020 14 Sep'20
UK’s ‘historic’ trade deal with Japan promises advantages to tech industry, says TechUK

TechUK was among the organisations that have welcome the ‘historic’ trade deal between the UK and Japan that is expected to boost trade by £15bn a year
September 11, 2020 11 Sep'20
Government 'making progress' on Smart Freight System prep ahead of Brexit transition deadline

The government appears to be heeding warnings about the readiness of the Smart Freight border IT system, as the January 2021 Brexit transition deadline looms large

September 11, 2020 11 Sep'20
UK ‘future tech’ development gets government funding boost

£65m in funding will be used to develop electric batteries, robotics and advanced healthcare treatments
September 11, 2020 11 Sep'20
Russian interference in US elections ramps up on schedule

With the critical US 2020 presidential election looming, Russian-state backed hackers are once again after organisations directly involved in political elections, launching thousands of targeted attacks
September 11, 2020 11 Sep'20
Government funds digital manufacturing projects

The business secretary has announced £300 million of funding for virtual assistants, augmented reality and digital supply chain innovations
September 10, 2020 10 Sep'20
Irish privacy watchdog orders Facebook to stop sending user data to the US

Irish privacy watchdog orders Facebook to suspend transfers of European citizens’ data to the US after Schrems II ruling that Europeans have no effective way to challenge American government surveillance
September 10, 2020 10 Sep'20
HMRC signs up Fujitsu for two years of user computing support

As it disentangles the Aspire contract, HMRC has been working directly with key IT suppliers, with this latest agreement providing managed desktop IT
September 10, 2020 10 Sep'20
Edinburgh council to create smart city operations centre

Edinburgh council extends an outsourcing agreement with CGI as it steps up its smart city programme
September 09, 2020 09 Sep'20
London councils to share technology procurement platform

A new technology procurement platform will help all 33 local councils in London diversify their IT supplier portfolios
September 09, 2020 09 Sep'20
Technology businesses vital to UK post-Covid economic recovery

Technology firms are set to play a larger role in UK’s post-Covid economy and are being encouraged to expand overseas after a strong year for digital exports
September 09, 2020 09 Sep'20
Abu Dhabi government launches peer-to-peer coding campus

Abu Dhabi government launches a specialist programming school that uses peer-to-peer teaching methods and gamification
September 09, 2020 09 Sep'20
Government publishes long-promised national data strategy

The government has published a national data strategy aimed at fostering innovation and increasing economic growth. It will also appoint 10 data fellows each year to work in the orbit of Number 10, and create 500 analyst jobs by 2021
September 08, 2020 08 Sep'20
UK leads Europe in net zero venture capital investment

With the UK leading venture capital investment in net zero enterprises, Tech Nation have launched a new, government-backed scaleup programme to further develop the sector
September 08, 2020 08 Sep'20
Post Office Horizon IT scandal victims face further battles as government digs heels in

The government repeats that it won’t pay victims’ legal costs and confirms review into the scandal will not have the power to call witnesses
September 08, 2020 08 Sep'20
Matt Hancock announces £50m for healthcare AI projects

The NHS and industry must have a ‘symbiotic’ relationship, says health secretary Matt Hancock as he promises to improve the environment for innovation in healthcare and announces £50m in funding for a series of healthcare AI projects
September 08, 2020 08 Sep'20
CIO interview: Paul Neville, director of digital and ICT, Waltham Forest

The IT chief at one of the most digitally advanced London boroughs talks to Computer Weekly about the past, present and future of tech-enabled transformation in times of crisis
September 07, 2020 07 Sep'20
Experts slam government digital ID response

TechUK panel members say the government’s response to its digital identity consultation provides no concrete plan for moving forward
September 07, 2020 07 Sep'20
Court rejects request to exclude ‘11th hour’ US evidence against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

Lawyers for Julian Assange say the US has introduced an 11th hour indictment against the WikiLeaks founder that provides additional grounds for his extradition
September 07, 2020 07 Sep'20
AI Summit 2020: Regulating AI for the common good

Speakers and panellists at the virtual AI Summit 2020 spoke about the tensions between cooperation and competition in the development of artificial intelligence
September 07, 2020 07 Sep'20
Government awards £32m funding for ‘pioneering’ health tech projects

Science minister Amanda Solloway will announce £32m in funding for six healthcare technology research projects, including artificial robotic muscular assistance and quantum imaging for monitoring
September 04, 2020 04 Sep'20
UK funds coronavirus research for vulnerable global communities

The £7.2m fund will support UK university research into supporting refugees and children affected by the global health crisis
September 04, 2020 04 Sep'20
Government should learn lessons from Brexit, says NAO

National Audit Office report finds government did not plan adequately for Brexit and needs to be better prepared to deal with uncertainty and improve communication, engagement and planning
September 04, 2020 04 Sep'20
Virtual London Tech Week is a sign of the future

London Tech week's virtual event is another sign of how the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation
September 04, 2020 04 Sep'20
Scottish government to spend £4m on creating five tech hubs

Following a review of the tech sector, the Scottish government is creating five technology hubs to support startups in the country, aiming to support 300 startups by 2025
September 04, 2020 04 Sep'20
Major border disruption on the horizon as Brexit IT portfolio becomes ‘unmanageable’

The proliferation of new platforms and work behind schedule is among the list of concerns cited in a leaked memo
September 03, 2020 03 Sep'20
HMRC appoints Daljit Rehal as CDIO

Former digital and data chief at Centrica, Daljit Rehal, takes the helm at HMRC as chief digital and information officer
September 02, 2020 02 Sep'20
Guernsey to revamp digital local service delivery following double datacentre build-out

The State of Guernsey’s ongoing push to revamp how it delivers digital services to its citizens continues apace with the completion of two new datacentres on the island
September 02, 2020 02 Sep'20
Northumbria University suffers major disruption after cyber attack

Some exams cancelled as university appoints external specialists to investigate incident
September 02, 2020 02 Sep'20
UK to build commercially available quantum computer

The UK government is backing a quantum computing project that will provide businesses with access to the technology
September 02, 2020 02 Sep'20
Ethical and professional data science needed to avoid further algorithm controversies

BCS is calling for higher ethical and professional standards in algorithmic development to ensure public trust in future government information systems
September 02, 2020 02 Sep'20
App integration means emergency services can identify caller location in three words

Capita integrates What3words app into its emergency services control centre platform to help respondents identify the exact location of people who need help
September 01, 2020 01 Sep'20
UK government unveils next steps in digital identity plans

Long-awaited response to July 2019 consultation highlights private sector demands for digital identity support from government
September 01, 2020 01 Sep'20
Norway’s corporates want government to support ‘herd immunity’ to cyber attack

Leading business organisations in Norway call on government to play a more active role in improving and coordinating the country’s cyber defences
August 28, 2020 28 Aug'20
University of Staffordshire recruits robots to get more out of its people

University staff were bogged down with administrative work, but will now have time to be creative
August 28, 2020 28 Aug'20
Office for National Statistics defines better cross-government data linkage

ONS review of data-linking practices across government is consistent with Cummings and Johnson drive to put data in command of government
August 28, 2020 28 Aug'20
New Zealand activates security services as DDoS outage enters fourth day

New Zealand government calls in its national cyber security agencies to help investigate a continuing cyber attack on the country’s financial systems
August 28, 2020 28 Aug'20
Interview: Frankie Kay, interim director general for data capability, ONS

The Office for National Statistics’ interim director general for data capability talks about how data plays an important role in the battle against Covid-19 and how the pandemic has unearthed new ways of collaborating
August 28, 2020 28 Aug'20
Benefit fraud: Underground trade in stolen identities revealed

A roaring underground trade in stolen identities is undermining the Universal Credit system and could potentially defraud it out of millions of pounds
August 27, 2020 27 Aug'20
Tech and telecoms advisory group set up to help trade negotiations

Department of International Trade launches new Trade Advisory Groups to guide trade negotiations with other countries
August 27, 2020 27 Aug'20
UK government publishes new insights on transport tech attitudes

The latest wave of the study investigates public attitudes on innovations such as autonomous vehicles and drones
August 26, 2020 26 Aug'20
Amazon UK boss to help select new government CDO

Outgoing Amazon UK boss Doug Gurr is on the selection panel to assess candidates for the government chief digital officer role, which offers a salary of up to £200,000 per year
August 26, 2020 26 Aug'20
DWP searches for talent as part of apprenticeship programme

The Department of Work and Pensions is looking for diverse talent to fill software and networking roles while developing skills on the job
August 26, 2020 26 Aug'20
Government must urgently prioritise digital identity, says tech sector

TechUK calls on government to make digital identity a focus of its digital strategy as the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the ‘urgent need’ for digital IDs
August 25, 2020 25 Aug'20
Council to connect hundreds of its sites through wide area network

Local authorities invest in networking and contact centre technology through IT outsourcing contracts
August 25, 2020 25 Aug'20
Obituary: Lord Harry Renwick – a parliamentary pioneer for IT interests

Lord Harry Renwick, once a key influencer for technology policy in Parliament, and a long-standing friend of Computer Weekly, passed away this month
August 24, 2020 24 Aug'20
Government makes digital leadership changes

The government has begun recruiting for a chief digital officer at permanent secretary level and Government Digital Service director general Alison Pritchard is leaving to join the Office for National Statistics
August 24, 2020 24 Aug'20
CCS to launch £800m NHS IT framework

Collaborative framework agreement will cover a range of IT management services for use by NHS Digital and other public sector health and social care organisations
August 21, 2020 21 Aug'20
Scottish government reveals broadband voucher scheme to make up project shortfall

Government reveals details of funding for Scottish residents who fall outside reach of its primary broadband project
August 21, 2020 21 Aug'20
SMEs outperform Q2 expectations but remain cautious about Q3 prospects

Small confidence boost for small to medium-sized enterprises puts tech investment back on the table over coming 12 months
August 20, 2020 20 Aug'20
Drop in number of students taking GCSE computing in 2020

The amount of students deciding to take GCSE computing in England drops despite an increase last year
August 20, 2020 20 Aug'20
Government launches anti-crime tech competition

Government seeks technologies that allow police officers to use less lethal means to stop violent or armed offenders
August 19, 2020 19 Aug'20
Scotland announces £15m investment to boost connectivity

Funding package aimed at improving internet access for 23,000 low-income households
August 19, 2020 19 Aug'20
Loan charge MPs urge chancellor to get HMRC to soften contractor settlements

Co-chairs of Loan Charge All Party Parliamentary Group write to Rishi Sunak to seek a fairer deal for contractors caught by HMRC’s disguised remuneration policy
August 18, 2020 18 Aug'20
Government scraps Public Health England

NHS Test and Trace boss Dido Harding will run a new National Institute of Health Protection dubbed “the best chance” of beating coronavirus by health secretary Matt Hancock
August 18, 2020 18 Aug'20
Department for Transport seeks industry views on autonomous vehicle technology

The government wants industry’s views on plans to use automation technology to take control of cars travelling at speeds of up to 70mph, keeping them safely in the lane on motorways
August 18, 2020 18 Aug'20
Northern Ireland Covid-19 tracing app reaches 250,000 downloads

In the two weeks since it went live, Northern Ireland’s Covid-19 test and trace app has been downloaded a quarter of a million times
August 18, 2020 18 Aug'20
HPE signs 12-month hybrid cloud-focused MoU with UK government

Hardware giant becomes the first non-cloud provider to sign preferential pricing deal with government’s Crown Commercial Service, as push to encourage public sector move to cloud accelerates
August 17, 2020 17 Aug'20
Coronavirus: Government faces renewed calls for extended support for self-employed

The second phase of the government’s income support scheme for the self-employed goes live today, prompting renewed calls for the eligibility criteria to be broadened so that more people can benefit
August 14, 2020 14 Aug'20
UK government investigates AI labour market

Survey will seek to discover new requirements and issues posed by artificial intelligence technology
August 13, 2020 13 Aug'20
CIO interview: Mark Gannon, director of business change and information, Sheffield City Council

Like many organisations, the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated digital change in Sheffield, and its IT leader is looking to build further on that momentum
August 12, 2020 12 Aug'20
EU and US start discussions on ‘enhanced’ Privacy Shield data-sharing agreement

Talks begin on a successor to the Privacy Shield EU-US data-sharing agreement declared unlawful in July 2020 – a decision by the European Court of Justice that left thousands of businesses facing legal uncertainty
August 12, 2020 12 Aug'20
Government awards funding for innovation projects

The funding for innovative projects forms part of the government’s plan to increase research and development spending, which it claims will aid the UK’s post-Covid-19 economic recovery
August 12, 2020 12 Aug'20
Police use of facial recognition found ‘unlawful’ in court

In a landmark decision, the Court of Appeal has ruled that South Wales Police’s facial recognition deployments breached human rights and data protection laws
August 10, 2020 10 Aug'20
Government launches digital identity checking pilot

More than a year after first announced, the government has launched a year-long pilot of its post-Brexit digital identity checking service
August 10, 2020 10 Aug'20
Gov.uk Verify continues to pose ‘notable risk’ to Cabinet Office

Government Digital Service put in place “unprecedented measures” in response to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic and built several new digital services, but its Gov.uk Verify programme continues to “pose notable risk” to the department, according ...
August 07, 2020 07 Aug'20
Data Standards Authority publishes guidance on government data sharing

The Data Standards Authority (DSA) wants government departments to use new open data standards when sharing data, with the aim of improving public services
August 07, 2020 07 Aug'20
Government should prioritise product-led startups, says UKTCG

UK Tech Cluster Group report calls on government to prioritise startups, provide test beds for digital innovation and establish programmes to enable tech careers for people who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19
August 07, 2020 07 Aug'20
Government pumps £650m into Northern Ireland border

Funding for the Northern Ireland border includes £200m for a Trader Support Service and £155m to develop technology to support traders during post-Brexit transition period
August 06, 2020 06 Aug'20
If you hire foreign IT staff, ‘you’re fired’, Trump tells bosses in government-owned entities

Donald Trump has fired a pre-election warning to government organisations that give IT jobs to workers from overseas
August 06, 2020 06 Aug'20
TfL Go launched to support travel in London during pandemic

New tool aims to enable users to plan routes and comply with social distancing measures while using public transport
August 06, 2020 06 Aug'20
Planning system to get digital overhaul

Government proposal on reform of the planning system sets out plans for modernising the planning process though use of data, interactive online systems and collaboration with the property technology sector
August 06, 2020 06 Aug'20
NHS seeks new national data guardian for health and care

New national data guardian will take over the post from Fiona Caldicott, working to build trust in data use across health and social care
August 05, 2020 05 Aug'20
Netherlands investigates innovative privacy technology SSI

Dutch research organisation is looking into areas where self-sovereign identity technology could be used in society and business
August 05, 2020 05 Aug'20
Egypt’s datacentre plans take key step forward

Government lays the foundations for a datacentre industry with its new data protection law
August 05, 2020 05 Aug'20
Home Office drops ‘racist’ visa algorithm

The Home Secretary has pledged to stop using an algorithmic decision-making system to assess visa applications after migrant welfare and technology justice groups challenged the tool for helping to create a hostile environment for migrants
August 04, 2020 04 Aug'20
Police require radical reform to deal with 21st century challenges

Early findings from a major review of policing reveal forces are struggling to keep pace with the changing nature of crime
August 03, 2020 03 Aug'20
Estonian police and border services need better IT to block criminals from becoming e-residents

Police and Border Guard Board of Estonia needs to improve its IT systems to stop criminals from becoming e-residents, says report
August 03, 2020 03 Aug'20
Economic Affairs Committee calls for Universal Credit reform

Lords Select Committee finds the design of the Universal Credit system is ‘failing millions of people’, including a ‘significant minority’ who struggle with the digital service
July 31, 2020 31 Jul'20
Experts launch digital skills project for civil servants

International tech education experts from 10 institutions across the world have developed an online education programme for public servants
July 31, 2020 31 Jul'20
Hancock: Better tech means better healthcare

The coronavirus pandemic has “catalysed” data-driven decision making in the NHS, according to health secretary Matt Hancock, promising a future NHS that “doubles down” on technological advances
July 31, 2020 31 Jul'20
Labour Party is latest victim of Blackbaud ransomware attack

Widening Blackbaud data breach ensnares the Labour Party as the cloud software firm continues to duck questions about its behaviour
July 31, 2020 31 Jul'20
US lawmakers grill big tech chiefs over market power

Sixth antitrust hearing sees CEOs of major technology companies face combative questioning from members of Congress over their market power and dominance
July 30, 2020 30 Jul'20
HMCTS video hearings service scrutinised in LSE report

Independent evaluation looks at user experience of video functionality for courts and tribunals
July 30, 2020 30 Jul'20
EC launches digital identity consultation

European Commission’s consultation will look at revisions to the eIDAS regulation, aiming to improve effectiveness and extend it to the private sector
July 30, 2020 30 Jul'20
How Broxbourne is evolving digital transformation beyond Covid-19

The small town of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire is building on work before and during the pandemic to advance its modernisation agenda
July 30, 2020 30 Jul'20
Treasury plans speedy approach to project delivery

Treasury will become the “new radicals” of Whitehall, taking charge of getting rid of legacy IT, making data-driven decisions and investing in data infrastructure
July 30, 2020 30 Jul'20
Tech sector calls on government to 'urgently' resolve delays in digital identity policy

Trade body TechUK has written privately to DCMS secretary of state to express industry frustrations and request ‘urgent needs’ are resolved to enable digital identity market in UK
July 30, 2020 30 Jul'20
Finland government funds work on potential quantum leap

Finland's government is committing money to the development of quantum computing technologies to potentially provide a giant leap for the nation's industries
July 30, 2020 30 Jul'20
List of Blackbaud breach victims tops 120

More than 120 education and third-sector organisations may have had their data compromised through the breach of Blackbaud’s cloud platform
July 29, 2020 29 Jul'20
Campaigners urge government to resist big tech lobbying pressure

Lobbyists for big tech, supported by senior US politicians, have rallied against stricter regulation of technology companies, and threatened the US-UK trade deal unless Britain scraps plans to levy a digital services tax
July 29, 2020 29 Jul'20
Schrems steps up pressure on Irish data protection commissioner on Facebook’s data sharing with US

Austrian lawyer is considering ‘other’ options if the Irish data protection commissioner does not make a decision by October on his seven-year-old complaint against Facebook
July 28, 2020 28 Jul'20
De Montfort, KCL, Newcastle universities join list of Blackbaud victims

Embattled cloud services provider now has big questions to answer over its handling of data belonging to UK universities and charities