PublicTechnology.net

Amazon Web Services has this week opened its first London region, joining Microsoft and IBM in boosting its UK-based cloud data centre offering and aiming at securing public sector customers.

Less than half of UK local authorities’ websites have good or very good information for people planning to carry out a building project – and some are using web pages as a “hard sell” for council services, a survey has said.

Police forces need to increase their use of online crime reporting tools, live-streaming videos and adoption of cloud-based systems, TechUK has said.techUK estimates the cost of police time spent on low level crime reporting to be £130m a year.3

The government has not achieved predicted savings through shared purchasing of common goods and services due to “overambitious targets, poor planning, inadequate data and lack of buy in”, a report has said.

The Government Digital Service has launched a recruitment drive for a product manager for the government’s catalogue of open data, data.gov.uk.

Just 39% of metropolitan councils provide a good or very good service for people to apply for housing online, according to the latest results from Socitm’s Better Connected survey.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich is best known for its nautical history, but the council’s digital team is now setting its course for super-fast connectivity and cutting-edge technologies. Gill Hitchcock reports.  

The Government Digital Service was officially launched on 8 December 2011. Rebecca Hill takes a look back at five years of transformation, trials and tribulations at the central government team.

Microsoft looks at how intelligent business applications can help the public sector improve service delivery

Three-quarters of GOV.UK content is looked at by less than 10 people a month, according to figures from the Government Digital Service.

The government’s digital transformation strategy must identify the trade-offs the Government Digital Service will be expected to make in implementing the work, the Institute for Government has said.

Police forces across London have stepped up the fight against crime by using Microsoft’s Azure cloud service

Political leaders need to become more digitally savvy if they are to properly represent the electorate, digital inclusion charity Doteveryone has said. 

MPs have voiced concerns about the extent to which HMRC is relying on new digital services to reduce demand at its call centres – without a backup plan.

Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service is looking for a delivery partner for its £1bn digital overhaul of the UK’s justice system.

The Land Registry has chosen Kainos to build it a single digital register for disparate local authority registers of restrictions on land or property across England.

The government needs a unified approach to front and back office functions if it wants to make the cost savings digital promises, argues Jane Roberts of TopLevel.

Councils need to identify and develop leaders that will offer staff support, rather than control, if they want to succeed at public service reform, according to a report.

Teams building government digital services will have regular visits from an assessor during development under a new approach to standards assessment being trialled by the Government Digital Service.

The Ministry of Defence has delayed the go live date of its new online procurement system due to problems with data migration, leaving suppliers to wait for invoices to be processed or resort to paper.

The Digital Economy Bill has passed its third reading in the House of Commons, with digital and culture minister Matt Hancock moving to allay fears around increased data-sharing powers within government.