‘Complete overhaul of Defra IT needed to ensure safe food and water’ – PAC
Department’s creaking tech infrastructure is ‘at constant risk of failure or cyberattack’, committee finds
Only two firms bid for £5m deal to support Emergency Alerts
Minister reveals small number of interested parties in deal to deliver, design and support...
Defra taps £40k consultancy to create crisis-response plan
Department seeks new business continuity templates and definitions for issues including strikes...
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MPs press Treasury on source of funding for £400m buyout of satellite firm
Committee chief claims that government has refused to answer or otherwise dodged questions about OneWeb purchase
Three ‘working closely with government’ after many users fail to receive emergency alert
Cabinet Office claims that ‘vast majority of compatible phones’ received test message
Defra spends £150m on digital deals for app development
Environment department picks IT services giants for contracts
Historic England admits ageing IT is feeling the strain
DCMS agency that manages listed buildings says that its work is being hampered by ‘underfunding’ of tech infrastructure
Nearly a third of Defra’s 2,000 applications are past end of life, auditors find
Department must commit a decade of work and three quarters of its IT budget to upgrading ageing kit
More than half of government ICT waste now reused – but landfill creeps up
Annual report identifies opportunity for ‘ethical and more lucrative approach’ to technology disposals
Robot submarine used to assess decommissioned oil fields
Project led by University of Southampton deploys autonomous vehicle
Scottish Government tech accelerator turns attention to protecting nature
New £2.6m support programme seeks digital solutions to challenges facing the natural world
HMRC property-valuation unit invests in web-mapping tool for ‘historical aerial photographs’
Agency that helps set council tax signs 18-month deal with specialist data firm
GDS signs £5m support deal for new Emergency Alerts Service
New government initiative to send SMS warnings picks core supplier
Labour pledges creation of state-owned green energy provider
Leader Keir Starmer invokes party’s history of supporting technology and modernisation
Government flags up ‘Swimfo’ water-checking tool as sewage protests rumble on
Environment Agency’s online checker currently shows more than 30 swimming spots with active warnings against bathing
Citizens to receive government text alerts for weather emergencies
New system will enable authorities to warn citizens if their life or property is in imminent danger
Net zero: Scottish Government launches online support service for firms
Digital tool is intended to help companies set targets
Climate change: Government app to ‘encourage small lifestyle changes’
Environment agency signs £500k deal with software developer
Net zero: Government warned over data inconsistencies
Auditors cite need for better leadership as PAC chair reminds departments that ‘good data leads to good decisions’
‘Smaller and more efficient’ – Defra looks to transformation schemes to help offset hiring freeze
Environment department has implemented ‘strict recruitment controls’
Great expectations: Government unveils new digital and data strategy
A new three-year plan sets out ambitious objectives for departments’ use of tech, including a commitment to improve scores of the biggest citizen services. PublicTechnology gets the lowdown from civil service chief operating officer Alex Chisholm.
Scottish biotech hub to collaborate with healthcare innovation facility
Government-backed Glaswegian centre to work with Kent-based R&D unit
Environment Agency unveils Minecraft replica of Preston to promote climate change education
Government agency works with tech firms in virtual version of Lancashire city
Defra invests in ‘identity investigation tool’
Software will provide officials with access to information including electoral roll data, property records, and details of insolvencies