Councils organise local computers for remote schooling schemes
Norfolk, Essex, Greater Manchester and West Midlands among authorities setting up local projects
Ben Goldacre to review research use of health data
Head of Oxford University DataLab and ‘Bad Science’ author to report findings in April
Digitisation will help make census safe says ONS
Statistical agency hopes that three-quarters of responses in England and Wales will be digital...
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DWP seeks user-centric service designers with policy skills
Lead service designer role offered at a salary of around £91,000
Statisticians need to ‘get beyond publishing the same numbers every month’
National statistician outlines ambitious plans for ONS Data Science Campus to 'mobilise the power of data’ for decision-making
HMRC urged to undertake comprehensive pilot of Making Tax Digital as costs remain unclear
Detailed figures released by the Treasury reveal how much businesses are expected to have to spend on hardware, software and training
ONS launches Data Science Campus
The Office for National Statistics has today launched its Data Science Campus in Newport, Wales, to make better use of data and develop the statistical information it provides.
Interview: Conservative peer Chris Holmes calls for a considered but can-do attitude from government on blockchain
Two sides to the BitCoin? Conservative peer Chris Holmes talks to Rebecca Hill about being positive about blockchain’s potential for public services without seeing it as a ‘wonder drug’.
Departments unwilling to accept Cabinet Office authority to centralise purchasing, suggest MPs
The creation of the Crown Commercial Service was poorly executed and slow take up of centralised purchasing by departments means it only manages one-fifth of the spending it was expected to, a review by MPs has found.
A digital front door: Cornwall council’s plan to make up for underinvestment and a failed supplier partnership
At the start of the year, Cornwall Council’s cabinet approved an £18m digital improvement plan that aims to fix years of IT underinvestment. Gill Hitchcock reports.
Scottish digital strategy set out plans for assurance, training and common platforms
The Scottish government will implement a “tough” assurance process for digital projects, mandate the use of common technologies and offer training to make sure civil servants “get digital”.
ICO: Councils need to sharpen up on data protection ahead of GDPR
Survey shows lack of preparedness as data protection watchdog slaps £60,000 fine on Norfolk County Council
Half of British citizens think government will use robots in the next decade
A survey has revealed that the British public can see robots speeding up some public services – but that they doubt robots will be better decision-makers than humans.
NHS Digital extends scheme to boost digital health skills
NHS Digital is to run 20 local projects funding to help people improve their digital health skills as part of its widening digital participation scheme.
Councils told to embrace ‘radical outcomes’ of smart technology
Councils should be in the “driving seat” of technological change, but need to rethink the role they play in their locality and invest in long-term planning, a report has said.
HMRC is ‘rushing’ digital tax reforms and should push back launch to 2020, say peers
Lords Economics Affairs Committee says estimates of savings ‘little more than guesswork’
GDS to expand Verify team as pressure to increase user numbers mounts
The Government Digital Service is recruiting for a new service manager for its identity assurance programme Verify as as part of the push to increase users of the service by more than 20 million.
Interview: GDS leader Kevin Cunnington on 'self-help groups', spend controls and cold water swimming
After a tumultuous first six months as director general of the Government Digital Service, Kevin Cunnington has finally got the long-awaited Transformation Strategy off his desk and is looking forward to an office move. He tells Rebecca Hill about Whitehall “self-help groups”, reforms to spend controls and cold water swimming.
MoJ moves employee data onto government shared services programme
The Ministry of Justice has become the latest department to transfer its employee data onto the government’s shared back-office IT system.
‘Don’t be scared to let people use your tech’, government IT teams told
DfE IT leader Dave Rutt has called on digital teams to let users test their tech – and raised concerns that tax reforms are driving contractors out of the public sector.
IT system leaves GP practices in the dark about who can access records
GP practices may be inadvertently breaking data protection rules due to a record-sharing feature in a widely-used IT system, it has been reported.
Police forces not keeping pace with technology, says constabulary inspectorate
Police forces across the UK are struggling to cope with technologically advanced crimes and are failing to exploit digital investigative techniques, a report has said.
In it for the long-run: Why Luton council signed a 10-year ICT deal
Luton Borough Council chose to renew its IT contract rather than go with a new provider. The council’s technology lead tells Gill Hitchcock how it shifted to an outcomes-based approach – and why a flexible 10-year contract can still be a good deal.
Open up Industrial Strategy statistics, government told
MPs have urged the government to take a “concrete step” to greater transparency by creating a searchable database of meetings with businesses that extends to include senior civil servants.