News

IT for government and public sector

• April 08, 2020 08 Apr'20

  IR35 private sector reforms: Blanket bans on limited company contractors hold firm despite deferral

  While many firms have seized on the government’s decision to delay the roll-out of the IR35 reforms to rethink their approach, others are sticking by their decision to ban limited company IT contractors from their workforce

• April 07, 2020 07 Apr'20

  Judge refuses to delay Assange's extradition hearing over coronavirus pandemic

  District Judge Vanessa Baraitser says extradition proceedings will go ahead against Julian Assange, after his lawyers argued that the coronavirus lockdown means they cannot prepare their defence

• April 07, 2020 07 Apr'20

  House of Commons commits to digital Parliament

  Temporary arrangements will be in place to allow MPs to work remotely, with a project involving the BBC set to implement a more robust solution

• April 06, 2020 06 Apr'20

  Government launches £20m tech fund to tackle coronavirus crisis

  The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy announced the funding to back proposals to be reviewed by Innovate UK

• April 03, 2020 03 Apr'20

  Speaker calls for virtual Parliament during coronavirus crisis

  Pressure mounts to build on previous virtual trials in parliamentary committee hearings and enable the House of Commons to operate remotely.

• April 03, 2020 03 Apr'20

  Use of NHS technology surges during Covid-19 outbreak

  Digital platforms provided by the health service are attracting many more users as a result of social distancing and the need to provide services remotely

• April 02, 2020 02 Apr'20

  What the Court of Appeal referrals mean to those who campaigned for justice for subpostmasters

  Former subpostmasters and their supporters describe their feelings after their appeals against convictions – some of which are nearly 20 years old – get sent to the Court of Appeal

• April 02, 2020 02 Apr'20

  MPs call for digital Parliament

  In a letter with more than 100 co-signatories, Labour MP Chi Onwurah calls for politicians to lead by example during the coronavirus outbreak

• April 01, 2020 01 Apr'20

  Coronavirus: NHSX working on contact tracing app

  A contact tracing app to track the spread of infection is being developed, although specific technical details remain scarce

• March 31, 2020 31 Mar'20

  Netherlands schools harness Apple technology

  Most Dutch schools use Windows computers, interactive whiteboards and Chromebooks, but there are a number of pioneers who choose Apple products

• March 31, 2020 31 Mar'20

  Whitehall appoints civil service COO to replace John Manzoni

  Former CMA chief executive Alex Chisholm also takes on the roles of COO and permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office

• March 31, 2020 31 Mar'20

  Hackathon launched to help fight coronavirus pandemic

  Virtual hackathon seeks to develop a suite of applications to help people during the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak through ethically built technology

• March 30, 2020 30 Mar'20

  Ministry of Defence releases defence data management strategy

  The report sets out how the department will improve the way it manages and uses data

• March 29, 2020 29 Mar'20

  Australian government unveils Covid-19 app

  Federal government launches Coronavirus Australia app to keep Australians updated on the latest developments in its fight against the coronavirus outbreak

• March 27, 2020 27 Mar'20

  How subpostmasters made legal history with biggest referral of potential miscarriages of justice

  Subpostmasters seeking redress of prosecutions at the hands of an IT system force the biggest ever UK referral of cases of potential miscarriages of justice to the Court of Appeal

• March 27, 2020 27 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Derbyshire Police deploy drones to enforce social distancing rules

  Police forces across the UK are using technology to exercise new emergency powers granted by the government this week as part of its coronavirus response

• March 27, 2020 27 Mar'20

  Crown Commercial Service advises on remote working tech

  Public sector organisations want to understand their options to support their workforce during the Covid-19 crisis

• March 27, 2020 27 Mar'20

  NHS rolls out video consultations at GPs to support lockdown

  Video consultation service aims to reduce face-to-face contact to protect patients and reduce infection, as well as caring for people who are mostly staying at home

• March 26, 2020 26 Mar'20

  Subpostmaster prosecutions to be considered by Court of Appeal for miscarriages of justice

  The Criminal Cases Review Commission is referring 39 subpostmaster prosecutions to the Court of Appeal to review for possible miscarriages of justice, with further analysis on 22 more cases ongoing

• March 25, 2020 25 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Chatbot to help Estonians cope during pandemic

  Estonian government is using a chatbot developed by local startups to answer the many questions its citizens have about Covid-19

• March 25, 2020 25 Mar'20

  Meeting reviewing subpostmaster applications to appeal criminal prosecutions moves into second day

  The Criminal Cases Review Commission has extended a meeting considering subpostmaster applications to appeal criminal convictions resulting from a faulty Post Office IT system

• March 24, 2020 24 Mar'20

  Huge queues for Universal Credit online applications due to coronavirus surge

  Online queues in the tens of thousands are hindering emergency applications for Universal Credit, with the Gov.uk Verify identity verification system becoming a particular bottleneck

• March 24, 2020 24 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Mobilising data science

  Policy-makers are calling on the global data science community to develop data models that can can help them better understand the Covid-19 transmission rate

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Post Office postpones subpostmaster compensation scheme amid Covid-19 crisis

  Scheme to compensate subpostmasters who suffered because of computer errors in the Post Office’s Horizon system is delayed

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: Kaspersky, Bitdefender make products free to NHS

  Kaspersky and Bitdefender have both made various products and services available free to healthcare customers as the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic intensifies

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Coronavirus: CCRC uses Microsoft Teams to consider subpostmaster appeals

  Criminal Cases Review Commission to use Microsoft Teams to ensure review of subpostmaster prosecutions is held on time

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Singapore’s JTC taps GIS platform in Punggol Digital District

  The planners behind Singapore’s Punggol Digital District are using a geographic information system to make better planning decisions and improve day-to-day operations

• March 20, 2020 20 Mar'20

  Dstl launches report on the future of cities

  Dstl research aims to support decision-making of the UK military by analysing topics such as the influence of technology in urban warfare

• March 20, 2020 20 Mar'20

  MP warns minister not to parrot civil servants’ lines on Post Office IT scandal

  MP Kevan Jones has warned a government minister not to repeat the mistakes of predecessors in relation to the Post Office Horizon IT scandal

• March 20, 2020 20 Mar'20

  How an Estonian digital nation emerged from the embers of Soviet rule

  Estonia’s minister for foreign trade and IT tells Computer Weekly how the country went from having no governmental infrastructure in the early 1990s to acquiring the label “digital nation”

• March 19, 2020 19 Mar'20

  Loan charge under review: Cross-party group of MPs slams government inquiry into tax policy

  The government’s independent inquiry into the loan charge disguised remuneration policy has been criticised in a report by a cross-party group of MPs for being ‘fundamentally flawed’

• March 19, 2020 19 Mar'20

  Covid-19: NHS tackles coronavirus crisis with the help of tech

  As the pandemic grows and creates enormous pressure on the health service, NHS organisations across the country are using technology to help cope

• March 18, 2020 18 Mar'20

  Surrey goes live with child health system

  CSH Surrey goes live with its new platform, with the information on 440,000 children's health now consolidated onto a single platform

• March 18, 2020 18 Mar'20

  Post Office executives used ‘grotesque predatory capitalism’ throughout Horizon IT scandal

  Labour MP Karl Turner tells Computer Weekly that the Post Office Horizon scandal is the most grotesque version of predatory capitalism he has ever seen

• March 18, 2020 18 Mar'20

  Estonia offers digital tools to countries struggling with coronavirus school closures

  Government and tech companies in Baltic state unite to offer advanced digital learning tools to other countries

• March 18, 2020 18 Mar'20

  Swedish municipalities test AI to drive efficiencies and cost savings

  Research in Sweden measures the benefits of using artificial intelligence in local government operations

• March 18, 2020 18 Mar'20

  IR35 private sector reforms: Coronavirus prompts Treasury to delay start date to April 2021

  HM Treasury confirms roll-out of IR35 reforms to the private sector will be halted for a year to ease the pressure on businesses in the face of the coronavirus outbreak

• March 17, 2020 17 Mar'20

  MoD defence capabilities programme in trouble, says NAO

  The Ministry of Defence is struggling with its £196bn defence capabilities programme, as 10 of 32 projects, including several technology ones, are in trouble, according to the National Audit Office

• 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

  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

  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

  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