‘HMRC has risen to the challenge’ of coronavirus response, says CEO Harra
Tax agency head salutes colleagues’ work in building new platforms at speed
Videoconferencing can benefit the NHS and patients long after coronavirus
The pandemic has provided a pressing use case for remote consultations but, according to Rowan...
NHS suspends use of coronavirus test kits over ‘safety’ issue
Use of kits supplied by Randox has been paused ‘until further notice’
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Chancellor to jettison Making Tax Digital plans from Finance Bill
Wash-up period sees government compromise to rush crucial tax legislation through House of Commons today
Public safety ‘imperilled’ by lack of interoperable police ICT network
2016 State of Policing report calls for a single decision-making mechanism for ICT to bring forces into the technological age after years of isolationism and protectionism
BT bags £100m contract with Met Police
Company to provide a range of cloud and IT services as part of the Met’s technology transformation programme
Socitm: 60% of councils offer good online council tax service
Latest Better Connected results indicate easy access to information on discounts but that councils struggle to strike the right balance between too much and too little information
NHS England launches platform to create marketplace and testbed for healthcare app developers
Dedicated mobile health space will allow developers to test their tools, as NHS Digital Apps Library goes live
Torfaen tweets: How a small Welsh council is punching above its weight on social media
Finding new ways to publish public information has turned Torfaen Council into a local government social media leader. Gill Hitchcock reports.
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.
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.
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.
Home Office seeks deputy director for ESN mobile communications programme
The Home Office is seeking a “robust and charismatic” deputy director for Emergency Services Network Mobilisation.
‘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.
Government’s 5G strategy focuses on testing tech
The government is to invest £16m in a research hub as it announces the creation of a National 5G Innovation Network to act as a testbed for new technologies.
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.
GOV.UK Notify goes live for central government, with local government to launch this year
The Government Digital Service’s notification service has gone live across all central government departments, with local government – and letters – next on the team’s list.
GOV.UK roadmap for 2017-18 aims for flexibility of scope and more robust metrics
The Government Digital Service has said it will use “more robust metrics” for GOV.UK as its 2017-18 roadmap reveals plans to improve email subscription, content search and user journeys.
EXCL: GDS leader Kevin Cunnington: ‘We’re on track to finish Mike’s strategy, this is the next step'
The government has achieved “just about everything” that was in its first digital strategy and now needs a different approach to make bigger savings, the director general of the Government Digital Service has said.
Data privacy and lack of skills preventing public sector from making the most of digital, survey says
Senior managers in the public sector have said that data privacy, security and increasing regulations are all barriers to their organisations benefitting from mobile and digital technologies, according to a survey.
Whitehall must change its hierarchical workforce mentality and embrace technology, says Reform think tank
The public sector needs to use technology to reform its workforce by disrupting hierarchies, adopting new recruitment processes and automating administrative roles, a think tank has said.
National Cyber Security Centre: Password managers ‘good for now, but not forever’
Password managers may offer advantages in the short-term, but password-based authentication has “outstayed its welcome”, the National Cyber Security Centre has said.
Industrial strategy promises boost for data infrastructure, skills and R&D
The government’s industrial strategy has emphasised the importance of data-sharing by Whitehall, as well as a push to improve digital skills training and boost funding for technologies like robotics and 5G.