News

IT for government and public sector

• 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

• July 28, 2020 28 Jul'20

  NCSC names national security expert Lindy Cameron as new CEO

  New National Cyber Security Centre head joins from the Northern Ireland Office and has spent 20 years in government at home and abroad

• July 28, 2020 28 Jul'20

  UK government aims fintech industry at Africa

  UK government is building fintech relationships with developing countries, beginning with a pilot programme in Africa

• July 28, 2020 28 Jul'20

  Councils get funding to build on Covid-19 digital progress

  The latest council funding is intended to ensure continued modernisation in public services delivery

• July 27, 2020 27 Jul'20

  MI6 apologises after attempt to interfere with intelligence court

  The UK Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, has apologised after attempting to persuade the secretary of Britain’s most secret court to withhold documents from senior judges in a case about crimes by undercover agents

• July 24, 2020 24 Jul'20

  Venture firm Public launches fourth GovTech accelerator

  The GovStart 2020 accelerator programme is looking for innovators working on transport, health and workforce-related technology to help get more startups working on the delivery of public services

• July 24, 2020 24 Jul'20

  Inquiry launched into role of tech in Covid-19 recovery

  Science and Technology Committee will look at the role of technology and innovation as the UK recovers from the coronavirus pandemic

• July 24, 2020 24 Jul'20

  Courts to trial digital case management system from September 2020

  The Common Platform digital system will eventually replace a series of existing software applications, and will be rolled out to criminal courts over the next year

• July 24, 2020 24 Jul'20

  Government launches space innovation programme

  The government’s innovation programme will initially pump £15m into projects using space technology to tackle global issues, as well as international space projects and partnerships

• July 23, 2020 23 Jul'20

  UK government aims for tech-enabled border

  A consultation has been launched to gather views on how digital approaches can improve trader and traveller demands by 2025

• July 22, 2020 22 Jul'20

  DCMS loses government data policy to the Cabinet Office

  Prime minister Boris Johnson has taken away responsibility for the government use of data from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and given it to the Cabinet Office

• July 22, 2020 22 Jul'20

  New opportunities for Nordic startups post-Covid-19 as virtual offices become the norm

  As companies adjust to digital office life in the pandemic era, a host of Nordic startups are already helping them convert these short-term fixes into long-term strategy

• July 22, 2020 22 Jul'20

  TfL contracts Capita for London Underground section of emergency services network

  Capita will implement the network infrastructure that will enable the emergency services mobile network to work on the London Underground

• July 21, 2020 21 Jul'20

  CDEI calls for ‘step change’ in public sector data sharing

  Public sector needs to change the way data is shared, clarify governance arrangements and work on building public trust and awareness, according to a Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation report

• 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