News

IT for government and public sector

November 04, 2019 04 Nov'19
Modernisation of justice may leave vulnerable users behind

A Commons Select Committee report has voiced a number of concerns about the ongoing transformation efforts led by the Ministry of Justice and called for actions such as maintenance of non-digital services
November 04, 2019 04 Nov'19
Government allocates £2m to support growth of lawtech

New government funding unlocked to help break down barriers to the adoption of emerging technologies in the legal sector
November 04, 2019 04 Nov'19
IR35 tribunal rules HMRC wrong to pursue ex-DWP IT contractor for £240,000 in unpaid employment tax

HMRC has vowed to appeal against the outcome of an IR35 tribunal that ruled it should not be pursuing an ex-DWP and Accenture IT contractor for more than £240,000 in unpaid tax as his engagements classify him as self-employed
November 04, 2019 04 Nov'19
EU patches 20-year-old open source vulnerability

Ethical hackers taking part in a bug bounty programme on behalf of the European Union have uncovered a 20-year-old vulnerability

November 01, 2019 01 Nov'19
HMRC appoints interim chief digital and information officer

Jacky Wright's replacement is a financial services veteran who brings expertise in tech-enabled change and payments infrastructure
October 31, 2019 31 Oct'19
Government review of cloud-first policy concludes guidance should remain unchanged

A review into the continued relevance of the UK government’s six-year-old cloud-first policy has concluded its ‘brand recognition’ is too strong for it to be scrapped, according to GDS
October 31, 2019 31 Oct'19
UK at the forefront of government AI investment

Current and anticipated artificial intelligence spending is the highest in Europe despite various challenges around implementation, according to a report by Accenture
October 31, 2019 31 Oct'19
JEDI mind tricks: Did White House interference affect the outcome of $10bn US gov cloud contract?

Microsoft's triumph over Amazon Web Services (AWS) in securing a $10bn cloud contract with the US Department of Defense has led to questions being asked about whether White House pressure changed the course of the procurement
October 31, 2019 31 Oct'19
NHSX reports advancements in artificial intelligence

Latest study showcases the work in artificial intelligence that is ongoing in the NHS as part of its Long-Term Plan
October 30, 2019 30 Oct'19
DWP outlines steps to reduce fraud and error

The Department of Work and Pensions has released the priorities within its single departmental plan, including the new platforms National Debt Service and Counter Fraud and Error Management Service

October 30, 2019 30 Oct'19
What will succeed the National Cyber Security Strategy?

As the National Cyber Security Strategy nears the end of its working life, the government is considering what comes next, and is asking probing questions of its successes and failures
October 30, 2019 30 Oct'19
UK gets low score in European e-gov ranking

Leaders in the region got scores of over 80% while Britain achieved just over 61%, a Capgemini report has found
October 29, 2019 29 Oct'19
Reykjavik: An IT ecosystem beyond the ice

Iceland is a small island between Europe and the US, and that is one of several reasons why it is attracting tech startups to its capital
October 29, 2019 29 Oct'19
Post Office IT trial judgement within days

The judgment in the second trial in a multimillion-pound legal battle over an allegedly faulty IT system at the Post Office is imminent
October 28, 2019 28 Oct'19
AWS 'surprised' over losing out on $10bn US JEDI cloud deal to Microsoft

Microsoft has emerged as the victor in the long-running battle with AWS over who would secure a decade-long cloud contract with the US Department of Defense worth $10bn
October 28, 2019 28 Oct'19
UK government announces new funding for robot development

The £34m package will go towards research around autonomous technologies to improve safety and public trust
October 25, 2019 25 Oct'19
How the DWP lifted two decades of outsourcing to adopt a cloud-first model

For the past four-and-a-half years, the Department for Work and Pensions has been evolving into a cloud-first organisation. We find out how it has been getting on
October 25, 2019 25 Oct'19
Government provides boost to artificial intelligence skills

PhDs and researchers will be sponsored as part of a programme aimed at creating and retaining experts in artificial intelligence technology
October 25, 2019 25 Oct'19
NHSX seeks chief technology officer

The principal technology adviser to the organisation's CEO, Matthew Gould, should be interviewed by early December
October 24, 2019 24 Oct'19
Know Fraud database became backlog dump

Reports to Action Fraud handled by City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau were quarantined as security risk, finds HM’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services
October 23, 2019 23 Oct'19
Ministry of Defence to access IT skills via £1.5bn framework

The new procurement vehicle is part of the department's plan to improve how it engages with the tech industry
October 22, 2019 22 Oct'19
Government to provide local data to proptechs

Minister announces creation of a national index of brownfield site data and other initiatives to allow startups and property development companies to use public data to generate business
October 22, 2019 22 Oct'19
Brexit: Withdrawal agreement lists EU IT data link beyond transition

Document lists system-to-system IT and network connectivity that will be required after the UK leaves the European Union
October 21, 2019 21 Oct'19
NHS Digital announces suppliers for GP IT Futures framework

The NHS’s previous IT supplier framework for GPs – composed of just four suppliers – will be replaced by a pool of nearly 70 IT companies
October 18, 2019 18 Oct'19
NHS e-prescriptions roll-out aims for £300m savings by 2021

The final stage of digitising prescriptions in the NHS is expected to reduce inefficiencies, errors and paper usage
October 18, 2019 18 Oct'19
Home Office Brexit app finally available for iPhone

A mobile app to help EU citizens apply for Settled and Pre-Settled Status after Brexit is finally available for Apple iPhone devices, but only on newer generations
October 17, 2019 17 Oct'19
NHSX could transform NHS security capabilities

The health sector is increasingly confident that NHSX can deliver a streamlined, effective cyber security policy for the health service
October 17, 2019 17 Oct'19
Report calls for urgent replacement of health screening IT

Major review of cancer screening programmes urges NHSX to prioritise the update of the underlying technology systems
October 16, 2019 16 Oct'19
Government shelves age verification plans for online porn

Plans to introduce age verification to access online pornography will not go ahead, with provisions around protecting children from inappropriate content on the internet to become part of wider regulations
October 16, 2019 16 Oct'19
Government IT hosting providers fail to provide emissions data

Cloud computing is driving the government’s IT and sustainable tech strategy, but cloud and hosting providers are unable to divulge emissions data
October 16, 2019 16 Oct'19
HMRC fails to get new customs system ready for Brexit

A National Audit Office report reveals that HMRC has opted for a multimillion-pound enhancement of a legacy platform rather than working on its planned replacement
October 15, 2019 15 Oct'19
UK government aims to measure success of digital initiatives

Responding to a critical parliamentary report on digital progress, the government has laid out plans to develop better metrics and to overhaul legacy IT
October 15, 2019 15 Oct'19
TfL to use artificial intelligence to run London’s road network

Transport for London is seeking input from companies about how it can use data-intensive technologies to predict the impact of road problems across the capital
October 14, 2019 14 Oct'19
UK government confirms gigabit broadband roll-out, rows back on 2025 delivery commitment

UK government confirms plans to roll out gigabit-capable broadband across the UK, yet quietly shelves previous pledge to do so by 2025
October 14, 2019 14 Oct'19
NHS Digital brings in biometric login functionality

Two new libraries released to allow developers in the NHS to include functionality to digital services
October 14, 2019 14 Oct'19
Deputy chief executive at NHS Digital departs

NHS Digital’s deputy chief executive, Rob Shaw, will leave the organisation in December to work with foreign governments on national health and care infrastructure
October 11, 2019 11 Oct'19
How code reuse drives business change at the DWP

Department for Work and Pensions is using application programming interfaces to promote reuse of granular microservices across the organisation
October 11, 2019 11 Oct'19
OECD pushes international digital services tax agenda

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development wants to reach agreement on addressing issues around taxation for online giants by 2020
October 10, 2019 10 Oct'19
How AWS is cracking the public sector cloud market

The public sector cloud business takes time and resources to build, but the rewards can be meaningful, as the founder of Amazon Web Service’s public sector division has found
October 10, 2019 10 Oct'19
Mental health issues concern UK tech professionals

Staff shortages, long hours and lack of flexibility are impacting the wellbeing of people in the sector, according to a Harvey Nash survey.
October 09, 2019 09 Oct'19
Survival of accountants 'at stake' as HMRC presses ahead with tax digitisation

Advances in technology are bringing a series of dilemmas for professionals as the government continues plans to digitise all tax for UK businesses, according to a new report
October 09, 2019 09 Oct'19
HETT 2019: Digital literacy gap will never be fully closed, says panel

The increasing use of digital technology in healthcare means it is important for people to be digitally literate to take part, but the digital literacy gap will always be there, says an expert panel
October 09, 2019 09 Oct'19
More Institute of Technology centres planned to tackle skills gap

A second wave of centres offering higher technical education nationwide has been announced
October 08, 2019 08 Oct'19
Nadella sees Azure as the world’s computer

The Microsoft CEO wants organisations to consider Azure as a distributed cloud for next-generation AI applications
October 07, 2019 07 Oct'19
Scottish Parliament launches inquiry on police use of facial recognition

The circumstances and implications of the technology’s application in the police service will be investigated in the coming months
October 07, 2019 07 Oct'19
UK chief data officer recruitment plans still on

Minister says CDO will work closely with the chief digital and information officer, who is still to be recruited
October 07, 2019 07 Oct'19
Government departments sign up to web data-sharing plan

All but four Whitehall departments have so far agreed to share web analytics data to allow the government to monitor user behaviour across the Gov.uk domain
October 07, 2019 07 Oct'19
UKtech50 2019 – help us find the most influential people in UK technology

Computer Weekly’s annual search for the 50 most influential people in UK technology reaches its 10th anniversary – let us know who you would like to nominate for this year’s list
October 04, 2019 04 Oct'19
Home Office picks supplier for £300m biometrics project

The department has chosen US company Leidos to provide critical elements of the national system under a £300m contract with a 10-year timespan
October 04, 2019 04 Oct'19
Swedish authorities introduce robots to help social workers

Software robots free up time for social workers to help benefits claimants find employment