News

IT for government and public sector

September 06, 2018 06 Sep'18
All acute NHS trusts in England now using e-referrals

NHS trusts have reached 100% uptake of NHS England’s e-referral service, ahead of October 2018 deadline
September 05, 2018 05 Sep'18
Government projects watchdog recommends terminating Gov.uk Verify identity project

Infrastructure & Projects Authority says Whitehall departments are unwilling to fund flagship GDS identity programme – cancellation would mean writing off at least £130m spent so far
September 05, 2018 05 Sep'18
Health minister launches code of conduct for health tech data

The code of conduct – focused around data-driven tech such as AI – aims to deepen trust between researchers, innovators, patients and clinicians, according to health minister James O’Shaughnessy
September 05, 2018 05 Sep'18
Nordic states collaborate in Arctic IT projects

Nordic countries are working together to introduce advanced communications networks in the most isolated Northerly regions

September 05, 2018 05 Sep'18
If we don't digitise NHS, we are condemning people to die, says NHS England’s operational director

NHS England’s national director for operations, Matthew Swindells, calls for a complete overhaul of the way the NHS delivers care, claiming the current model “is not viable”
September 04, 2018 04 Sep'18
Three forthcoming government services to use Gov.uk Verify

Government Digital Service is in the process of private beta testing its identity assurance platform with three new central government services
September 04, 2018 04 Sep'18
UK and allies call for backdoors in encryption products

The Five Eyes intelligence alliance is calling on tech firms to include backdoors in their encrypted products to give access to law enforcement authorities or face various measures
September 04, 2018 04 Sep'18
Government confirms West Midlands to become home to UK's first large-scale 5G test bed

The government has confirmed the West Midlands will be used to carry out the UK's first large-scale test of 5G technology, with trials centred on its use in the health, construction and automotive sectors
September 03, 2018 03 Sep'18
Department for Transport invests £10m in digital journey planner

Digital transport planning system will allow local authorities and utility companies to share and record data on roadworks to reduce disruption and delays for drivers
August 31, 2018 31 Aug'18
Met Police begins move to Microsoft Azure as cloud-first push gathers pace

The Metropolitan Police has enlisted the help of G-Cloud supplier New Signature to support its cloud-first ambitions, as it pushes ahead with plans to migrate applications and its on-premise server capacity to Azure

August 31, 2018 31 Aug'18
UK partners with African countries to boost innovation

UK government has launched partnerships in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria to help startups grow and boost technology innovation in the region
August 30, 2018 30 Aug'18
Nearly half of NHS staff rely on instant messaging at work

43% of NHS staff use apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger for work purposes, and most NHS trusts have no policy discouraging the use of instant messaging, according to supplier CommonTime
August 30, 2018 30 Aug'18
Local councils should have a digital leader at board level, says TechUK

Industry body calls on local councillors to have a digital-first mindset, drive transformation and ensure local authorities have digital leadership in place
August 29, 2018 29 Aug'18
DCMS has £95m for full-fibre in final round of LFFN scheme

The government has announced the third and final round of the Local Full Fibre Network Challenge Fund, with £95m remaining to invest in local ultrafast broadband projects
August 29, 2018 29 Aug'18
Cunnington’s role as head of function for DDaT needs changing, says IfG report

Kevin Cunnington’s role as the head of function for digital, data and technology (DDaT) should be to sit on the Civil Service Board, spread standards and provide targets for digital transformation, the think tank says
August 29, 2018 29 Aug'18
IT leaders at a crossroads as they grapple with digital technology

CIOs have the opportunity to influence their company strategy as digital technology reshapes business. A survey of CIOs across 70 countries charts a path for IT leaders through emerging technologies
August 29, 2018 29 Aug'18
Home Office launches EU nationals registration system pilot

EU citizens working at NHS trusts in the north-west of England – and students and staff at Liverpool’s universities – will be able to apply online for settled status in the UK post-Brexit, as part of private beta pilot
August 28, 2018 28 Aug'18
Challenge to anti-GDPR immigration exemption in DPA to go ahead

Two human rights groups are challenging a controversial clause in new UK data protection legislation that they say is in conflict with the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and undermines the General Data Protection Regulation
August 28, 2018 28 Aug'18
Hancock appoints chief technology adviser

Hadley Beeman will service as Matt Hancock’s chief technology adviser at the Department for Health and Social Care
August 28, 2018 28 Aug'18
Amnesty International backs campaign to ban killer robots

Human rights organisation calls for legally binding international agreement to ban the development and use of autonomous weapons that operate without humans
August 28, 2018 28 Aug'18
Finland government to review public procurement laws

Finland's government is putting its procurement laws under the spotlight after a major IT fraud
August 24, 2018 24 Aug'18
UK universities targeted by Iranian hackers

UK universities are among those targeted by a cyber threat group associated with the Iranian government
August 24, 2018 24 Aug'18
Gov.uk Verify chief to leave Government Digital Service

Nic Harrison is returning to the Department for Work and Pensions, with no replacement as leader of the identity assurance programme yet in place
August 24, 2018 24 Aug'18
Corbyn suggests tech tax to fund BBC

Labour leader says big technology companies and ISPs should contribute to a fund for public interest journalism
August 23, 2018 23 Aug'18
Cryptographic agility is key to post-quantum security

Although post-quantum security is not an issue for all organisations today, an expert believes that those needing to ensure data is secure for decades to come should aim to achieve cryptographic agility above all else
August 23, 2018 23 Aug'18
No Deal Brexit papers warn of stark future for UK tech

The government has published the first of its No Deal Brexit contingency planning notices, containing sobering messages for the UK technology industry
August 23, 2018 23 Aug'18
Councils at risk from unsupported Windows Server and SQL Server

Some local authorities are using unsupported server software, while others are not paying for extended support
August 22, 2018 22 Aug'18
Greater Manchester hails cloud as key to delivery of devolved health and social care in region

Having taken back control from the government for running its own health and social care budgets, The Greater Manchester Health and Social Care (GMHSC) Partnership is now in the throes of establishing what role cloud will play in its work
August 22, 2018 22 Aug'18
European cloud adopters still lack basic security

Despite outpacing the rest of the world, the majority of organisations adopting cloud in Europe, the Middle East and Africa lack basic security, a report reveals
August 22, 2018 22 Aug'18
Language barrier won’t hold back chatbots in the Netherlands

The use of chatbots by Dutch organisations is on the up, with KLM's chatbot a pioneering example
August 22, 2018 22 Aug'18
Nearly a third of organisations still not GDPR ready

As the UK and other states implement the EU’s GDPR, many organisations admit they are still not fully compliant, but most claim to be able to respond to data subject access requests
August 21, 2018 21 Aug'18
The risk of upgrading to S/4 Hana

S/4 Hana has been touted as the evolution of SAP's long-standing ERP suite, but with just six years to upgrade, how can businesses avoid an expensive SAP flop?
August 21, 2018 21 Aug'18
Government departments are exploring new tech, according to GDS report

A GDS-commissioned report has found artificial intelligence and blockchain are the most popular among emerging technologies in government, but projects are often done in silos and departments risk “reinventing the wheel”
August 21, 2018 21 Aug'18
Microsoft announces free election cyber defence tools

Microsoft has revealed it recently disrupted domains associated with a Russian cyber attack group believed to be targeting US political groups ahead of the midterm elections
August 20, 2018 20 Aug'18
NHS trusts lose nearly 10,000 patient records a year

Report calls for NHS trusts to work to abolish handwritten notes in hospitals to prevent loss of personal documents and to introduce a patient identity protocol
August 20, 2018 20 Aug'18
Job losses caused by artificial intelligence will dwarf those of Victorian revolution

The disruption to the jobs market caused by artificial intelligence will be far greater than that caused by industrialisation in Victorian times
August 20, 2018 20 Aug'18
Planned Australian law raises tech firms’ security concerns

A digital industry group representing some of the world’s largest tech firms is opposed to proposed Australian laws aimed at compelling them to help security agencies and police
August 17, 2018 17 Aug'18
Home Office preps for migration of police IT systems to AWS cloud

Digital Marketplace tender document reveals the Home Office is on the hunt for an IT supplier to support its work in migrating core police IT systems from an on-premise datacentre to the AWS cloud
August 17, 2018 17 Aug'18
Cyber Security Challenge UK to scale up

Cybersecurity Challenge UK plans to scale up its events and its role in coordinating UK industry efforts to attract talented people to the cyber security profession
August 16, 2018 16 Aug'18
Trump sparks speculation after repealing cyber attack restraints

The US president has sparked speculation about US policy on launching cyber attacks by repealing Obama-era restraints, underlining the need for international rules on cyber warfare
August 16, 2018 16 Aug'18
HMRC goes live with first phase of customs IT system

HMRC’s Customs Declaration Service is now live, and a small group of importers can use the system to make ‘certain types of supplementary declarations’
August 15, 2018 15 Aug'18
Scotland's Improvement Service signs up to pilot digital identity platform

The Improvement Service will pilot the Yoti digital identity platform, test the use of blockchain applications and take a cloud first approach with its myaccount citizen portal
August 15, 2018 15 Aug'18
IR35 tech compliance will take private sector 'over a year' to achieve, warns accounting trade body

The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) cautions HM Revenue & Customs against rushing out IR35 reforms to the private sector, claiming it will take most businesses at least one tax year to ready their software systems for the move
August 14, 2018 14 Aug'18
NHS Digital staff at risk of redundancy as part of restructure

More than 600 NHS Digital employees have been told they may have to reapply for their jobs, as redundancies loom in the first wave of the organisation’s restructure
August 14, 2018 14 Aug'18
CIO interview: Richard Corbridge, CDIO, Leeds Teaching Hospitals

Leeds Teaching Hospitals’ new chief digital and information officer is putting together a plan for smarter use of information
August 14, 2018 14 Aug'18
Driverless cars heading for Bromley and Croydon

A 10-month data-gathering exercise will pave the way for an autonomous vehicle ride-sharing service to start operation in 2019
August 13, 2018 13 Aug'18
ICO strengthens commitment to technology and innovation

Information Commissioner’s Office has demonstrated its commitment to technology and innovation by appointing a new executive director to focus on this area
August 13, 2018 13 Aug'18
Most security pros concerned about election infrastructure

A majority of information security professionals believe that election infrastructure is vulnerable to cyber attack, a survey shows
August 13, 2018 13 Aug'18
Government pumps £51m into Welsh tech hub

Chancellor Philip Hammond promises £51m in additional investment for researchers and entrepreneurs to drive tech innovation in Wales
August 10, 2018 10 Aug'18
Atos sets out vision for a digital Scotland

Scotland has the potential to create a competitive advantage in the global economy through digital technologies, and could even become a cloud datacentre hub, according to Atos