IT for government and public sector

Dutch government must sort IT mess as priority

Dutch government lacks the knowledge and skills for its own IT strategy, according to scathing report Continue Reading

Dutch government must facilitate and coordinate a broad eID system

The Dutch government should push for an electronic ID system for its citizens that works across the public and private sectors, according to a report Continue Reading

Everyone in UK tech must hold the new government to account on its digital promises

When Computer Weekly set out to compare and analyse the tech and digital policies in the major political parties’ manifestos for the 2019 General Election, the article extended comfortably to ... Continue Reading

Cyber security takes its place alongside UK’s armed services

Head of armed services says cyber security will take its place alongside the army, navy and air force as a key pillar of the UK’s defence strategy Continue Reading

Cyber Girls First volunteers encourage girls to think high-tech

More than 80 schoolgirls spent a day learning about computer hackers and rocket science – Cyber Girls First hopes they will become the next generation of technologists Continue Reading

AWS CEO Andy Jassy blames 'significant political interference' for Amazon losing $10bn JEDI deal

AWS CEO Andy Jassy claims White House meddling led to it losing out to Microsoft on the US Department of Defense JEDI contract, despite its cloud platform being demonstrably superior Continue Reading

Poor tech provision causes dissatisfaction in SMEs

Smaller businesses are struggling to provide a good enough employee experience when it comes to tech, according to a study Continue Reading

General Election 2019: Which manifesto is best for the UK’s tech sector?

Computer Weekly breaks down each political party’s technology policies ahead of the upcoming General Election to see how they compare Continue Reading

Liberal Democrats: We want to lead the world in ethical, inclusive technology

Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat MP and party spokesperson for digital, culture, media and sport, writes about the party's technology policies ahead of the upcoming General Election Continue Reading

Survey finds most firms don’t respond to GDPR requests in time

Most organisations do not respond to requests for GDPR data in the one month allowed, while many return incorrect data. The education sector does best, but the public sector lags behind Continue Reading

UK government urged to ramp up digital skills

Programme for International Student Assessment results show UK is lagging behind Asian powerhouses, according to Open Knowledge Foundation Continue Reading

Private sector warned off delaying IR35 reform prep as Conservative Party promises review

The Conservative Party has followed in the footsteps of the Liberal Democrats, The Labour Party and the Scottish National Party by committing to a review of the IR35 reforms Continue Reading

UK boards lose digital confidence

Fewer organisations feel they have the expertise they require, according to a Harvey Nash survey Continue Reading

Labour SME minister back-tracks over claims party will scrap IR35 reforms if it comes to power

Shadow small business secretary Bill Esterson clarifies comments he made during an event this week that suggested Labour had made halting the roll-out of the IR35 reforms to the private sector policy Continue Reading

Finnish tech firm aims to create scalable general-purpose quantum computer

University spin-off is attempting to take quantum computing capabilities to multiple business sectors Continue Reading

The super-resilient IT function

IT functions don’t have to continue taking the blame for organisational failures, they can take the lead in transforming the business Continue Reading

Peer calls for clear-out of Post Office board after Court of Appeal confirms major court defeat

Conservative peer championing subpostmasters’ long-running battle with Post Office suggests management clear-out after Court of Appeal rejects appeal bid Continue Reading

Revamped HMRC IR35 status checker tool still lacks key functionality, contractor groups claim

HMRC releases an updated version of its IR35 tax status checker tool, CEST, to accommodate the onset of the tax avoidance reforms being rolled out to the private sector, but contracting stakeholders claim it still lacks basic functionality Continue Reading

General Election 2019: Digital must be at the core of the next government’s strategy

TechUK lays out the technology priorities it wants to see from the next UK government to boost the digital economy Continue Reading

General Election 2019: The Conservatives’ technology policies and digital plans

With the UK gearing up for its third general election in four years, Computer Weekly outlines the Conservative and Unionist Party’s main technology policies and digital plans, as laid out in its manifesto Continue Reading

University of Leicester dumps SANs and LUNs for Cloudian object storage

One-to-one mapping between Dell SANs and media servers had passed their sell-by date and caused vulnerabilities for the University of Leicester, which fixed the problems by a move to “stateless” object storage on Cloudian Continue Reading

General Election 2019: Labour’s technology policies and digital plans

With the UK gearing up for its third General Election in four years, Computer Weekly outlines the Labour Party’s main technology policies and digital plans, as laid out in its manifesto Continue Reading

Conservatives propose national cyber crime force

Manifesto also says Tories would “empower the police to safely use new technologies like biometrics and artificial intelligence, along with the use of DNA, within a strict legal framework” Continue Reading

Court of Appeal dismisses Post Office application to appeal damning judgment

The Court of Appeal has rejected a Post Office application to appeal judgments made in the first trial of its multimillion-pound battle with subpostmasters over IT system failures. Continue Reading

Labour pledges review of NCSC in UK security overhaul

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre may get expanded powers under a Labour government Continue Reading

SMEs prevail in expanded FutureNHS tender

Health service is looking to procure a larger sharing and collaboration platform for health and social care Continue Reading

Lib Dem election manifesto: Party vows to scrap loan charge and review IR35 private sector reforms

The Liberal Democrats’ General Election manifesto sees the party pledge to scrap the controversial loan charge policy, and undertake a review of the IR35 private sector reforms Continue Reading

Collaboration is key to rapid adoption of govtech across Europe

Government technology is spreading across Europe, but policy-makers and senior civil servants are still figuring out best practices Continue Reading

NHSX seeks chief information officer

Role is the latest in a series of senior positions the digital unit is looking to fill in order to build its leadership Continue Reading

Swedish hospitals suffer IT crashes

Hospitals in Sweden’s West Götaland region have suffered computer problems because of as-yet unexplained hard drive crashes Continue Reading

Met Police launches £600m IT infrastructure tender

Force aims to move away from a multi-supplier approach and enable flexibility and savings in technology Continue Reading

Finland’s ministry of transport floats tech-enabled four-day week

Government department says four-day working week is made possible by technologies such as artificial intelligence Continue Reading

House of Commons seeks IT security chief

Interviews for the two-year engagement are due to take place in December 2019 Continue Reading

Public sector risks downplayed by senior IT leaders

Sophos reveals a significant cyber security perception gap between senior IT and security leaders in the public sector and their front-line teams Continue Reading

Scottish local government prioritises automation and AI in digital plan

Use of the technologies will be ramped up as part of the next phase of the Digital Office 2.0 programme Continue Reading

Loan charge under review: The 20-year retroactive tax policy pushing IT contractors to the brink

Thousands of IT contractors are at risk of financial ruin as HMRC pursues them for tax it claims they owe on work they did up to two decades ago and were reimbursed for via loan remuneration schemes. Computer Weekly investigates Continue Reading

Notorious hackers claim responsibility for Labour DDoS

Hackers claiming to represent Lizard Squad say they were behind a distributed denial of service attack on the UK’s Labour Party Continue Reading

Home Office Brexit app contains multiple security flaws

The Home Office’s Brexit app may be putting EU citizens’ personal data at risk Continue Reading

LOTI launches dashboard that maps technology resources of local authorities

London Office of Technology and Innovation launches dashboard in partnership with Bloomberg Associates to drive savings and identify skills levels Continue Reading

Attack on Labour shows need for DDoS defence but should alarm few

After being hit by two DDoS attacks in the space of 24 hours, many commentators are convinced the UK’s Labour Party is the victim of foreign interference in the General Election campaign. It probably isn’t Continue Reading

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 36

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, the team pick talk about General Election tech, HMRC's “war” on IT contractors, diversity in STEM and how organisations can fight back against fake online reviews Continue Reading

NHS still holds citizen trust on data use

But the public trust banks more than local or central government bodies when it comes to handling personal information, a new study has found Continue Reading

‘Robust’ security foils cyber attack on Labour Party

Labour claims to have been the victim of a cyber attack, but says it is confident no data leaked Continue Reading

G-Cloud 10 fails to generate business for suppliers, study says

Research firm Tussell’s study into G-Cloud reveals majority of suppliers listed in its report did not earn any revenue in 2018 through the public sector framework Continue Reading

HMCTS researches the future of open justice

A new report by Policy Lab into the threats and opportunities of technology is aimed to support new approaches to policy-making Continue Reading

General Election affects National Data Strategy

A series of workshops, including the public’s involvement to guide the plan’s vision, have been postponed Continue Reading

Welsh government to hire chief digital officer

The £500,000 of annual funding will go towards a leader and a department dedicated to developing digital initiatives Continue Reading

ICO launches data security campaign for UK General Election

Information commissioner Elizabeth Denham launches campaign to remind the public of their rights when personal data is used for political purposes Continue Reading

Modernisation of justice may leave vulnerable users behind

A Commons Select Committee report has voiced a number of concerns about the ongoing transformation efforts led by the Ministry of Justice and called for actions such as maintenance of non-digital services Continue Reading

Government allocates £2m to support growth of lawtech

New government funding unlocked to help break down barriers to the adoption of emerging technologies in the legal sector Continue Reading

IR35 tribunal rules HMRC wrong to pursue ex-DWP IT contractor for £240,000 in unpaid employment tax

HMRC has vowed to appeal against the outcome of an IR35 tribunal that ruled it should not be pursuing an ex-DWP and Accenture IT contractor for more than £240,000 in unpaid tax as his engagements classify him as self-employed Continue Reading

EU patches 20-year-old open source vulnerability

Ethical hackers taking part in a bug bounty programme on behalf of the European Union have uncovered a 20-year-old vulnerability Continue Reading

HMRC appoints interim chief digital and information officer

Jacky Wright's replacement is a financial services veteran who brings expertise in tech-enabled change and payments infrastructure Continue Reading

Government review of cloud-first policy concludes guidance should remain unchanged

A review into the continued relevance of the UK government’s six-year-old cloud-first policy has concluded its ‘brand recognition’ is too strong for it to be scrapped, according to GDS Continue Reading

UK at the forefront of government AI investment

Current and anticipated artificial intelligence spending is the highest in Europe despite various challenges around implementation, according to a report by Accenture Continue Reading

JEDI mind tricks: Did White House interference affect the outcome of $10bn US gov cloud contract?

Microsoft's triumph over Amazon Web Services (AWS) in securing a $10bn cloud contract with the US Department of Defense has led to questions being asked about whether White House pressure changed the course of the procurement Continue Reading

NHSX reports advancements in artificial intelligence

Latest study showcases the work in artificial intelligence that is ongoing in the NHS as part of its Long-Term Plan Continue Reading

DWP outlines steps to reduce fraud and error

The Department of Work and Pensions has released the priorities within its single departmental plan, including the new platforms National Debt Service and Counter Fraud and Error Management Service Continue Reading

What will succeed the National Cyber Security Strategy?

As the National Cyber Security Strategy nears the end of its working life, the government is considering what comes next, and is asking probing questions of its successes and failures Continue Reading

UK gets low score in European e-gov ranking

Leaders in the region got scores of over 80% while Britain achieved just over 61%, a Capgemini report has found Continue Reading

Reykjavik: An IT ecosystem beyond the ice

Iceland is a small island between Europe and the US, and that is one of several reasons why it is attracting tech startups to its capital Continue Reading

Post Office IT trial judgement within days

The judgment in the second trial in a multimillion-pound legal battle over an allegedly faulty IT system at the Post Office is imminent Continue Reading

AWS 'surprised' over losing out on $10bn US JEDI cloud deal to Microsoft

Microsoft has emerged as the victor in the long-running battle with AWS over who would secure a decade-long cloud contract with the US Department of Defense worth $10bn Continue Reading

UK government announces new funding for robot development

The £34m package will go towards research around autonomous technologies to improve safety and public trust Continue Reading

How the DWP lifted two decades of outsourcing to adopt a cloud-first model

For the past four-and-a-half years, the Department for Work and Pensions has been evolving into a cloud-first organisation. We find out how it has been getting on Continue Reading

Government provides boost to artificial intelligence skills

PhDs and researchers will be sponsored as part of a programme aimed at creating and retaining experts in artificial intelligence technology Continue Reading

NHSX seeks chief technology officer

The principal technology adviser to the organisation's CEO, Matthew Gould, should be interviewed by early December Continue Reading

Know Fraud database became backlog dump

Reports to Action Fraud handled by City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau were quarantined as security risk, finds HM’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services Continue Reading

Ministry of Defence to access IT skills via £1.5bn framework

The new procurement vehicle is part of the department's plan to improve how it engages with the tech industry Continue Reading

Government to provide local data to proptechs

Minister announces creation of a national index of brownfield site data and other initiatives to allow startups and property development companies to use public data to generate business Continue Reading

Brexit: Withdrawal agreement lists EU IT data link beyond transition

Document lists system-to-system IT and network connectivity that will be required after the UK leaves the European Union Continue Reading

NHS Digital announces suppliers for GP IT Futures framework

The NHS’s previous IT supplier framework for GPs – composed of just four suppliers – will be replaced by a pool of nearly 70 IT companies Continue Reading

NHS e-prescriptions roll-out aims for £300m savings by 2021

The final stage of digitising prescriptions in the NHS is expected to reduce inefficiencies, errors and paper usage Continue Reading

Home Office Brexit app finally available for iPhone

A mobile app to help EU citizens apply for Settled and Pre-Settled Status after Brexit is finally available for Apple iPhone devices, but only on newer generations Continue Reading

NHSX could transform NHS security capabilities

The health sector is increasingly confident that NHSX can deliver a streamlined, effective cyber security policy for the health service Continue Reading

Report calls for urgent replacement of health screening IT

Major review of cancer screening programmes urges NHSX to prioritise the update of the underlying technology systems Continue Reading

Government shelves age verification plans for online porn

Plans to introduce age verification to access online pornography will not go ahead, with provisions around protecting children from inappropriate content on the internet to become part of wider regulations Continue Reading

Government IT hosting providers fail to provide emissions data

Cloud computing is driving the government’s IT and sustainable tech strategy, but cloud and hosting providers are unable to divulge emissions data Continue Reading

HMRC fails to get new customs system ready for Brexit

A National Audit Office report reveals that HMRC has opted for a multimillion-pound enhancement of a legacy platform rather than working on its planned replacement Continue Reading

UK government aims to measure success of digital initiatives

Responding to a critical parliamentary report on digital progress, the government has laid out plans to develop better metrics and to overhaul legacy IT Continue Reading

TfL to use artificial intelligence to run London’s road network

Transport for London is seeking input from companies about how it can use data-intensive technologies to predict the impact of road problems across the capital Continue Reading

UK government confirms gigabit broadband roll-out, rows back on 2025 delivery commitment

UK government confirms plans to roll out gigabit-capable broadband across the UK, yet quietly shelves previous pledge to do so by 2025 Continue Reading

NHS Digital brings in biometric login functionality

Two new libraries released to allow developers in the NHS to include functionality to digital services Continue Reading

Deputy chief executive at NHS Digital departs

NHS Digital’s deputy chief executive, Rob Shaw, will leave the organisation in December to work with foreign governments on national health and care infrastructure Continue Reading

How code reuse drives business change at the DWP

Department for Work and Pensions is using application programming interfaces to promote reuse of granular microservices across the organisation Continue Reading

OECD pushes international digital services tax agenda

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development wants to reach agreement on addressing issues around taxation for online giants by 2020 Continue Reading

How AWS is cracking the public sector cloud market

The public sector cloud business takes time and resources to build, but the rewards can be meaningful, as the founder of Amazon Web Service’s public sector division has found Continue Reading

CW Middle East: Saudi banks trial biometrics in ATMs

Biometric and blockchain technologies are being used in tandem to provide ID verification at Saudi Arabian cash machines. Also read about the first government organisation in Bahrain to migrate to Amazon Web Services, and an interview with Yasmeen Al Sharaf, head of fintech and innovation unit, Central Bank of Bahrain. Continue Reading

Mental health issues concern UK tech professionals

Staff shortages, long hours and lack of flexibility are impacting the wellbeing of people in the sector, according to a Harvey Nash survey. Continue Reading

Survival of accountants 'at stake' as HMRC presses ahead with tax digitisation

Advances in technology are bringing a series of dilemmas for professionals as the government continues plans to digitise all tax for UK businesses, according to a new report Continue Reading

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 33

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Brian McKenna and Clare McDonald are joined by Alex Scroxton to talk about cyber warfare and digital healthcare Continue Reading

HETT 2019: Digital literacy gap will never be fully closed, says panel

The increasing use of digital technology in healthcare means it is important for people to be digitally literate to take part, but the digital literacy gap will always be there, says an expert panel Continue Reading

More Institute of Technology centres planned to tackle skills gap

A second wave of centres offering higher technical education nationwide has been announced Continue Reading

Nadella sees Azure as the world’s computer

The Microsoft CEO wants organisations to consider Azure as a distributed cloud for next-generation AI applications Continue Reading

What next for GDS?

Digital government has lost momentum, according to MPs. As the Government Digital Service enters its “third era”, what will it do to regain its authority and deliver real change? Continue Reading

Showcasing the potential of 5G

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we visit an ambitious trial in Bristol that is showcasing the possibilities offered by 5G roll-out. We look at how emerging automation technologies are enhancing the use of identity and access management tools. And we assess the Government Digital Service plan for transforming public services. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Scottish Parliament launches inquiry on police use of facial recognition

The circumstances and implications of the technology’s application in the police service will be investigated in the coming months Continue Reading

UK chief data officer recruitment plans still on

Minister says CDO will work closely with the chief digital and information officer, who is still to be recruited Continue Reading

Government departments sign up to web data-sharing plan

All but four Whitehall departments have so far agreed to share web analytics data to allow the government to monitor user behaviour across the Gov.uk domain Continue Reading

UKtech50 2019 – help us find the most influential people in UK technology

Computer Weekly’s annual search for the 50 most influential people in UK technology reaches its 10th anniversary – let us know who you would like to nominate for this year’s list Continue Reading