Inspectors to assess schools’ remote-learning set-ups
Education Scotland will examine how institutions across the country are responding to need for online learning
Major IT firms added to cross-government strategic supplier list
Computacenter and AWS have, in the last 12 months, both been added to the list of the government...
The four (non-coronavirus) public sector tech trends that will define 2021
PublicTechnology editor Sam Trendall picks out the big issues that might shape the year ahead....
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Local government Verify pilot hit by council departures
Commentators say scale of work was ‘underestimated’ by both sides - but smaller scale pilots offer opportunity to boost collaboration between central and local government
Councils have ‘limited understanding’ of digital skills needed by frontline staff
Eduserv report finds that just 3% of local government HR leaders rate digital literacy of frontline staff as ‘good’ - and that traditional, formal training programmes might not be the best option
TechUK: City mayors should commit to making digital the 'new norm'
Industry body calls on mayors to appoint a chief digital and innovation champion and use their influence to boost smart procurement, open data and digital skills
More than a third of public servants say their organisations are missing digital opportunities
Survey finds public sector isn’t making the most of digital, with costs, culture and legacy systems identified as major barriers to transformation
GDS research reveals procurement bugbears
Government to test ‘model contracts’ in a bid to bring procurement into the digital age
G-Cloud 9 deadline reached with almost 3,000 completed applications
Data reveals last minute flurry of activity, as more than 1,500 completed in final two days
Home Office plans integration of back-office processes
Department to replace enterprise resource planning system, business intelligence tool and payroll system with integrated cloud-based system called Metis
Former Cameron adviser launches scheme to get tech start-ups into Whitehall with big-name backers
GovStart programme gives small companies the chance to learn from GDS leaders past and present and access part of £320bn global market
Demos: Whitehall needs to understand the limitations of big data tools
Think tank says data dashboards have the potential to mislead and urges government to boost staff’s data science skills
Contracting site claims half of contractors could be caught inside IR35 as deadline looms
Analysis comes amid reports that the contractors behind HMRC’s own tax status assessment tool are set to leave the public sector because of the clampdown
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”.
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.
Government bodies still need to be PSN compliant, says GDS
Public sector organisations have been told they still have to meet the common Public Sector Network assurance standards while work is carried out to move away from the network.
Crown Hosting Service moves to CCS to gain specialist procurement talent
The number of public sector bodies using the Crown Hosting Framework for data centres is set to increase, as the Crown Commercial Service takes over responsibility for the service.
Budget 2017’s focus on innovation and technology welcomed, but industry calls for ambition to be matched by action
Tech companies have welcomed the focus on innovation and IT skills in yesterday’s Spring Budget, but called for the government to follow up its ambition with targeted actions.
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.
Cloud hosting ‘critical’ to sustainability, says Defra CTO
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has opened a procurement drive for its hosting and application support services as part of the exit from its IBM and Capgemini contracts.
Keeping tabs on transformation: Why tracking progress will be crucial for success
A lack of benchmarking data on digital transformation programmes in government makes it hard to evaluate success at a time when it has ever been more important, says Jane Roberts, strategy director at TopLevel.
Socitm: Collaboration and leadership needed for ‘SuperCloud’ initiatives to take off
Public sector organisations need to proactively work with existing large-scale public sector cloud-based networks to deliver more savings, a report from the association of IT professionals, Socitm, has said.
Peers grill HMRC’s Making Tax Digital team over software development plans
Civil servants running HMRC’s digital tax reforms have defended the timeline of the plan, but admitted that some software suppliers will not have products ready until October – six months after the pilot of the scheme is due to start.