News

IT for government and public sector

• 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

  Sorting out the Dutch government’s IT mess

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

• 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 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