How secure is government and should we have a right to know?
In a lengthy attempt to find out about the security of government’s software systems, PublicTechnology finds a very uneven approach to transparency and what constitutes sensitive information
Government declines to set date for contact-tracing app
Head of Test and Trace programme Baroness Harding says she does not want to specify a timeframe...
Edinburgh presses on with full-fibre rollout
A third of homes across the Scottish capital have been equipped with the next-generation...
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How Brexit Britain could become a surveillance state
The UK has tended to only introduce data-protection laws in conjunction with EU legislation and, according to Ray Walsh from ProPrivacy, the post-Brexit world may see the country prioritise authorities’ access to personal data over citizens' right to privacy
Gove believes Whitehall reform plans will not suffer because of close association with Cummings
Cabinet Office minister said that, despite the controversy that often surrounds the PM’s top adviser, ‘people are interested in Dominic and his ideas’
The fog of cyberwar
For governments and armed forces around the world, the digital domain has become a potential battlefield. But this new realm of warfare brings with it many ethical and legal complications. PublicTechnology talks to digital ethics expert Dr Mariarosaria Taddeo to find out more.
Treasury ‘got it wrong’ over tweet celebrating pubs reopening
Ministry deleted post encouraging people to ‘raise a glass’ after backlash
Government defends Test and Trace as proportion of contacts being reached drops sharply
In the first two weeks tracers were successfully reaching more than nine in ten identified close contacts, but this has now fallen to less than three quarters
Government turns to Instagram to seek policy guidance from teenagers
New initiative will seek to gain views of people aged 13 to 25
Bradford Council looks to chatbots
Authority considers deployment of technology to reduce use of phone and face to face support
Gove urges structural change of ‘government machine’ in call for reform
Minister discusses need for new training campus and greater use of data in evaluation of projects
Home Office ramps up video asylum interviews as backlog passes 50,000
The oldest claim awaiting decision was filed eight years ago and 10,000 more were added to the waiting list in the first three months of 2020 alone
Disinformation poses ‘existential threat’ to democracy, parliamentary committee warns
Report from crossbench group of peers accuses government of failing to deal with a growing problem
DWP agrees to fix digital issues after dropping legal battle over UC flaw
Department’s decision to retreat from lawsuit represents a victory for four single mothers
HMRC claims issue with online tax rebate system fixed after days of problems
Citizens report inability to claim repayments and delays to those that have already claimed
Contact-tracing success rate drops
Data shows declines in the proportion of both confirmed cases and their contacts being reached by tracers
Hancock says coronavirus app will rely on self-declaration
Health secretary refuses to provide estimate for launch date of new technology
NHS data watchdog calls for ‘no surprises’ rule in use of patient info
Consultation opened on addition of eighth principle for the health system’s use of data
Test and trace scheme failing to reach more than one in four coronavirus cases
Almost 4,000 people that have test positive have not been contacted by tracers
Home-schooling technology demands hits poorer families hardest, study finds
Research shows children learning or mobile phones and parents stretching budgets to buy new equipment
Lawfulness of government visa algorithm challenged
Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants files judicial review
Defra hunts £135k operations chief to push on with transformation
Department advertises for vacant senior managerial position
NAO finds big gaps in Home Office data on illegal immigration and enforcement
Report reveals most recent estimate for people in the country illegally dates from 2005
Government scraps £12m contact-tracing app after finding it does not work on iPhones
UK will switch to Google and Apple system after discovering that less than one in 20 contacts were detected on the latter’s devices by the NHS’s own system