UKauthorITy.com - The leading independent publisher of public sector technology news.

Open data: now it's business's turn, says Cameron

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 07:30:38 GMT

In a speech billed as a fierce defence of business, the prime minister pointed to a "new industry springing up", to interpret the blizzard of information flowing from Whitehall.

Local government haz embraced social media lol

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:40:34 GMT

Council use of social media has come a long way in the past five years, a new study shows

Tech industry 'too shy and retiring', says Lord Allan of Facebook

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:26:00 GMT

A new all-party parliamentary group hears that the IT sector must present a more glamorous face to government

Nee-naw services dash to outsource

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:28:04 GMT

On the day that Lincolnshire police announced a £200m deal to transfer an unprecedented number of services to a private contractor, market researchers have predicted a boom in outsourcing business from blue-light services.

VIDEO STORY: DCLG plans move to Gov.uk for its own web estate

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:39:17 GMT

Julian Bowrey, deputy director of corporate communications at the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and responsible for the department's digital estate is already planning the move to the single government domain, Gov.uk. He is still as enthusiastic about the potential of technology to transform public services as he was over a decade ago, when he led the local e-government programme. Whilst he admits that the original programme made less progress than hoped for, he believes that technology has both evolved and converged to the extent that e-government ambitions can now be realised.

Puzzled by Euro policy? Social media could help

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:18:01 GMT

A project to create an online "profiler" helping people explore their views on European policy issues such as immigration, and linked to discussion with their friends on social networks, was launched this month.

VIDEO STORY: Warwickshire takes email to the Cloud

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:24:15 GMT

Warwickshire County Council has broken new ground with a brave move to the cloud. Head of Information Assets, Tonino Ciuffini, talks to UKAuthorITy.tv about how a search to replace an email system led to a flight into the clouds and how he believes that such technology could provide the sector with much needed savings - and a base for sharing applications and services. Ciuffini evaluated three public cloud providers: Google, Microsoft and IBM, and says that all three were more than capable of providing email in the cloud for the public sector.

Cloud app store launches public sector IT buying revolution

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:01:57 GMT

The biggest change in IT procurement for a generation has been kicked off with the opening of an online catalogue of cloud-based services.

Media entrepreneur leads open data city audit

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:12:16 GMT

An audit of open data activity by local authorities in England's largest 40 cities is being carried out by the organiser of the UK's first open data cities conference, with initial findings to be revealed in April.

Shared services contract losses leave council feeling blue

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:07:18 GMT

Somerset's pioneering Southwest One shared services scheme is losing money - a worrying portent for emulators?

Doctors make emergency call to save out of hours 111 number

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:39:08 GMT

The British Medical Association is urging the government to slow the roll out of the NHS 111, the number for non-urgent calls amid worries about its procurement and progress

Lords to probe broadband promises

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:30:03 GMT

Peers have launched an inquiry to probe whether the government's flagship plans for super-fast broadband are up to speed.

Power of the cloud to tackle crime

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:42:47 GMT

A low-level crime reporting system created independently by an entrepreneur could help the police unlock the power of crowdsourcing and cloud computing to solve some of their IT efficiency problems, UKAuthority.com has learned.

Dip in number of Britons winning the race online

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:44:26 GMT

The increase in the number of people using the internet for the first time fell in the last quarter of 2011, official figures reveal

VIDEO STORY: PSN delivering benefits across Cambridgeshire

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:16:35 GMT

Noelle Godfrey, head of IT at Cambridgeshire County Council and member of both the Local CIO Council and the PSN Steering Group, talks to UKAuthority.tv about the development of a county-wide PSN in Cambridgeshire. Already delivering benefits and enabling shared services, the network is the shape of things to come. Godfrey believes that PSN is vital to the future of Local Government and aims to ensure that the frontline

ICO fines top a million

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:51:40 GMT

Two more local authorities have received monetary penalties from the Information Commissioner's Office, despite taking their own swift remedial action

Smart Asian mega-cities could boost UK firms

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:50:22 GMT

British technology companies struggling to find public sector business in an age of cuts could look to Asia to help pull them through hard times. The rise of Asian mega cities combined with the "smart cities" movement integrating technology areas from transport to telecommunications is creating major business opportunities in the east, according to a report published last week by government agency UK Trade & Investment.

More councils slapped for data protection breaches

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 09:24:47 GMT

The Information Commissioner's Office shows no sign of slackening its campaign against abuses of data protection at local authorities

VIDEO STORY: Green technology on the front line

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:48:58 GMT

Mick Phythian, head of ICT at Rydale District Council, member of the Local CIO Council and Socitm lead on green technology issues, welcomes the Government's sub-strategy for Green ICT - and is inviting local government to feed back examples of green best practice in the sector for his work with Socitm.

Whitehall offers 'fair and reasonable' open policy

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 02:17:07 GMT

Government plans for open IT seem to allow plenty of room for proprietary systems, the Cabinet Office's consultation indicates

Big Register is watching you: plans for data matching on voting eligibility

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:57:13 GMT

Data-matching by local authorities is the solution to fears that millions will drop off the voting register, a government review has concluded.

Parliamentary iPad row takes BYO policy national

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 15:18:40 GMT

The Commons Administration Committee has recommended that MPs use tablet computers. Cue a media row about taxpayer-funded iPads

Scottish agency scraps multi-billion spreadsheets workaround

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 14:13:42 GMT

the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) has shifted its contribution accounting from ordinary office spreadsheets to a dedicated system for the first time, boosting the accuracy and flexibility of its work.

Betagov accessibility strong, early test shows

Wed, 8 Feb 2012 18:59:23 GMT

The government's new trial single portal for online services, Betagov, is highly accessible to users with special access needs including disabled people, unlike its prototype

A mobile policeman's lot

Wed, 8 Feb 2012 09:36:07 GMT

Of all public sector workers, police officers should be expected to adapt the easiest to mobile technology. Why is it proving so difficult?

UKAuthorITy IT in Use: January/February 2012 issue

Tue, 7 Feb 2012 10:48:24 GMT

The January/February issue of IT in Use is now available on UKAuthorITy.com. View an electronic e-book version, read individual features/sections in pdf or download the entire magazine as a pdf.

No transparency, no aid, says Maude

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 20:11:04 GMT

Open data is to play a key role in the UK's foreign policy, the responsible minister tells the World Bank

Government cuts billions - but more needs to be done

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 20:08:26 GMT

Government cuts need to be deeper if the government is to meet its targets for reducing how much is spent on Whitehall

ITU Live Webinar: SMEs, Agile and the Public Sector in this Age of Austerity

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 14:33:43 GMT

Is the public sector serious about working with SMEs? Is it serious about Agile? What are the benefits SMEs could deliver? And how successful has the drive to get SMEs involved been?

Calls for government ID to help fight phishers and spammers

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 18:21:30 GMT

The identity assurance system used to access some online government services could be expanded to help people check other individuals' identities online

Scotland hits the digital high road

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 18:52:43 GMT

As the debate about independence gathers heat, the Scottish government has drawn up a plan which is says will bring a digital revolution to the country

Government defends online blue badge system

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 07:22:04 GMT

Claims that the new online application system for the disabled 'blue badge' parking permit is "riddled with technical problems" have been dismissed by ministers

York runs fibre rings round telecoms elephants

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 13:42:58 GMT

York City council has become the enabler for a local 'fibre ring' carrying superfast broadband, in a move which could leapfrog the city to the forefront of UK technological innovation

Gov.uk is up - and welcoming critics

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 14:56:50 GMT

The beta version of the single government domain has gone live, with a new url

Public sector 'better than private' when it comes to being flexible

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 14:26:28 GMT

Public sector managers and workforces are working more flexibly than the private sector, both in terms of setting work policies and in the communications tools they use, according to a communications technology firm

Second coming for cloud store - before the first

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:40:21 GMT

A second version of the new government 'cloud store' is being planned to allow new software and services to be offered continuously, offering savings of up to 90% on current prices, G-Cloud programme director Chris Chant told the Government ICT conference today

Privacy worries dog open data consultation

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:38:35 GMT

Concerns about personal privacy appeared in a 'significant' number of responses to the government's consultation on transparency and open data, the Cabinet Office revealed today.

Another council hit for repeated data protection breaches

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:45:37 GMT

Midlothian Council has to pay £140,000 for releasing details of vulnerable children to the wrong people

Broadband funding crisis looms for three regions

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:39:34 GMT

Ministers are to meet council leaders in areas where broadband strategies have been given the red light

Vive la campagne présidentielle en ligne

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:21:28 GMT

With the French Presidential campaign getting into full swing ahead of elections on 22 April, candidates are embracing the internet with observers predicting the online campaign could have a significant effect.

Whitehall refusing to probe cartel claims, say MPs

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:58:52 GMT

The Public Administration Select Committee's follow-up report says not enough is being done to reform government IT procurement

Academic study sounds alarm on criminal justice reform

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:01:18 GMT

Government ambitions to impose top-down change on the criminal justice system may be doomed, according to an international study

VIDEO REPORT: SMEs, innovation and e-learning

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:01:40 GMT

SMEs were invited last year to pitch their business proposals to government for products and services to deliver better value for money for the public sector. Three hundred and fifty one proposals were submitted. Nine were invited to pitch to the government's Innovation Launch Pad Product Surgery. Learning Pool director, Paul McElvaney, was one of those who made it through. He talks to UKauthorITy.tv about the Innovation experience, e-learning in the public sector and the savings available from collaboration.

Get behind broadband projects or lose funding, councils urged

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:35:07 GMT

With more than £530m on offer from the government to get broadband to the parts of the country where other technology cannot reach, Socitm is urging councils to sign contracts soon or risk losing the funding.

Justice CIO gets the whole government portfolio

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:41:30 GMT

Andy Nelson, in charge of one of the government's most radical IT-based reform programmes at the Ministry of Justice, has been named as the government's chief information officer.

Benefits reform is mission impossible, says IT firm

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:32:56 GMT

A leaked email from Capita - read out in Parliament - lays bare growing concerns over the timetable for little-known changes to council tax benefit

We want online services that are quick to forget

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:11:14 GMT

People want online public services 'that allow us to get on with the rest of our lives', according to a manifesto for the future of online public services from Consumer Focus

Fining public sector staff for data breaches 'will not work'

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:11:29 GMT

An online security firm says staff fines for data breaches will have a negative effect on the public sector.

Bring your own goes mainstream in local government IT

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:00:07 GMT

Attitudes to BYO technology in local government, have gone from 'over my dead body' to overwhelming support in two years, according to the authors of an authoritative annual survey

Largest supplier pledges to help government minnows

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:05:43 GMT

HP announces a 'robust plan' in the spirit of government policy on SMEs

Libraries promise digital access

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:24:18 GMT

Librarians from across the UK say they will continue to act as community digital resources

Mountain to climb before government goes digital by default

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:36:42 GMT

An overwhelming majority of Britons believe important government issues are best communicated by post rather than email, according to a survey by an interested party

Should staff, not the taxpayer, pay fines for public sector data breaches?

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 07:09:58 GMT

Senior managers in the public sector should personally be fined if the organisation they work for breach data regulations, claims a pressure group.

Don't just scrap ICT teaching, Gove urged

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:30:03 GMT

A clear framework for schools to improve the teaching of computing and the introduction of classes for kids as young as nine are among measures now needed to back up the government's announcement it is to scrap the current ICT curriculum

Tell Us Once back on the backburner

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:50:16 GMT

The Public Accounts Committee says a change-of-circumstances service could play a vital role in benefits reform

VIDEO REPORT: Playing games with e-learning to save money

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:11:01 GMT

Keith Quinn, senior education and workforce development advisor at the Scottish Social Services Council, is developing mobile delivery of interactive learning to train Scotland's entire social service workforce. He is getting impressive results from trialling some novel delivery platforms - including PlayStation Portable game consoles. He tells UKAtv's Helen Olsen that the cost of just one day's 'traditional' face to face training was enough to invest in technology that could be rolled out to all employees whenever needed.

Smart cities harbour horsemen of the ICT apocalypse

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:28:46 GMT

After 20 years of planning the smart city has arrived, thanks to the four riders of the ICT apocalypse - cloud, net, consumerisation and economic collapse.

£500 disclosure rule fails to staunch FoI requests

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 06:53:52 GMT

Requiring councils to be transparent was supposed to cut the burden of handling freedom of information inquiries. It hasn't happened yet, says a major study

Central London to gain free Wi-Fi - possibly, eventually

Sun, 8 Jan 2012 13:22:38 GMT

Westminster City council and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea have agreed with network operator O2 to provide free outdoor wireless access to across their entire areas - over time

Netherlands goes Dutch with postcodes

Fri, 6 Jan 2012 13:18:32 GMT

A court case strikes a blow for open data

Schools' laptop funding failure 'scandal in the making'

Thu, 5 Jan 2012 11:14:13 GMT

Schools are failing to ensure all pupils, including those from deprived backgrounds, have access to their own learning technology devices such as laptops at home and at school

Government promises more will use assistive technology

Wed, 4 Jan 2012 20:15:28 GMT

Health minister Paul Burstow says he wants electronic assistive technology to be available to more people after a successful large scale trial of telehealth and telecare

VIDEO REPORT: Are we ready for this? The public sector ICT profession needs new skills for a new technology age

Tue, 3 Jan 2012 11:15:50 GMT

Across the public sector in-house 'ICT Capabilities' are seen as the foundation for delivering both local and national ICT strategies and better government for less. Andy Nelson, CIO At the Ministry for Justice and SRO for the Government ICT Capabilities Programme, wants public sector ICT professionals to be seen as both essential and trusted advisors to the business of government.

Security 'misunderstandings' remain open source barrier

Tue, 3 Jan 2012 00:27:18 GMT

Cultural barriers and misunderstanding of security risks remain the biggest blocks to the public sector's wider implementation of open source, Robin Pape, the civil servant tasked with boosting open source has told UKAuthority.com

Assirati and Derrick honoured in new year list

Mon, 2 Jan 2012 09:49:20 GMT

The new year honours list includes three familiar names from the e-government scene

Summit urges better data sharing for community health

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 07:22:06 GMT

Councils and health bodies in England must collaborate more closely to improve the health and wellbeing of local communities even before the NHS reforms come in to effect, according to a report published this month

A year of strategic scene-setting: 2011 in review

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:17:31 GMT

For public sector IT, 2011 was a year of strategic promises, deadline-setting and institution-building. For the outcomes, we shall have to wait.

New year, new way to save the world

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:34:18 GMT

A global environmental data visualisation project is seeking UK public bodies to help build maps and problem-solving tools in the run-up to Rio+20, a UN sustainable development summit to be held next June on the 20th anniversary of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro

Patient access to records backed by policy forum

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 12:00:54 GMT

The NHS Future Forum has backed government plans to make patients' records available to them online

VIDEO REPORT: CLG - mentoring digital innovation

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 11:11:49 GMT

Chris Haynes, senior civil servant at the Department for Work and Pensions, has been helping Communities and Local Government with digital strategy and mentoring innovative local authority digital projects.

Councils still hiding their spending data, says MP

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:16:16 GMT

Much local spending data is so poorly presented that it would take a master detective to find it, Parliament has been told

VIDEO REPORT: The Unstoppable Cloud - A challenge for both the public sector and its suppliers

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:42:10 GMT

Andy Nelson, CIO, Ministry of Justice, talks to UKAtv about the Government Cloud strategy that he leads, about partnering with Warwickshire County Council to test the Cloud concept, and putting the building blocks in place for wider adoption across the public sector. We ask him how suppliers are reacting to a strategy that is so disruptive to their business model - a shift from big, long term infrastructure contracts to short, agile, pay as you go type flexible contracts, in a market now flooding with SMEs.

Business transformation hopes driving Hillingdon's ascent to cloud

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:12:18 GMT

More details emerged this week of the London borough's plan to shift around 3,500 staff onto Google Business Applications, first reported by UKauthorITy.com in November

VIDEO REPORT: Professionalism and Women in Public Sector ICT

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:13:12 GMT

Socitm vice president, Nadira Hussain, aims to jump start interest in public sector ICT among women. The project manager for Future Sourcing at Tower Hamlets has ambitions to create opportunities for young women in Tower Hamlets to experience both public sector and supplier sides of technology before they decide on future careers - and Socitm's plan is to roll this pilot out if successful.

So far, so good - NAO on Whitehall's ICT strategy

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:17:12 GMT

A preliminary audit of the government's ICT strategy - just nine months after publication - has already found areas of concern.

How many council staff does it take to change a website?

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:10:38 GMT

Huge variations in the number of staff assigned to develop council websites have been found by the first national survey of council web teams.

VIDEO REPORT: Socitm, Scotland and a model for engaging the wider public sector

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:45:57 GMT

Kay Brown, head of ICT at Lanarkshire Council, will be Socitm president from next April. She has been active in leading pan-public sector ICT engagement in Scotland and believes that this successful model of regional engagement on key technology issues could be replicated across the UK.

May presses on with scheme for PoliceIT.co.uk

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:33:32 GMT

Plans to create a national police IT company - sprung on a surprised audience of chief constables last summer, are on track, according to the Home Secretary

VIDEO REPORT: Solihull, Shared Services and the PSN

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:44:40 GMT

Steve Halliday, head of ICT at Solihull MBC and Socitm vice president, talks to UKAtv about shared services, a cost saving DIY upgrade to core Oracle systems, and shared Public Service Network ambitions.

Councils on deadline for superfast broadband plans

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 07:13:34 GMT

The culture secretary has warned that councils missing the February deadline will lose their superfast broadband money

Back-office framework deal points to wider strategy

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:57:32 GMT

Social media save money, says communications chief

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:37:25 GMT

Devolving part of a council's communications function to front-line staff through greater use of social media can save money and improve citizen engagement, one local authority communications chief said this week.

Councils should jump into new digital arena, before they are pushed

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 06:41:00 GMT

Local authorities should move now towards implementing the new unified design concepts for government digital services launched last week or risk being forced to do so at a future date, according to the local government Society of IT Management (Socitm).

Apps to tackle youth disengagement in riot-torn cities

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 07:02:38 GMT

A smartphone app to help young unemployed people find job and training opportunities is to be launched in the North London communities at the heart of this summer's rioting and unrest.

Comment: auditors set the bar for central government web team

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:21:19 GMT

By the standards of inquiries into government IT programmes, the National Audit Office's report on Directgov, Business.gov and Government Gateway is highly complimentary. But the new Government Digital Service cannot afford to relax.

Counties propose IT tie-up

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:06:36 GMT

Hampshire and Oxfordshire county councils and planning to share back-office IT systems in an ambitious partnership

Superfast broadband fail to reach rural Britain, claims pressure group

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 06:38:08 GMT

The government's rollout of superfast broadband to hard-to-reach rural areas has stalled as local authorities are struggling to turn Whitehall's promises of digital inclusion into reality, according to a pressure group.

EC promises open data goldmine

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:08:59 GMT

New open data rules could be worth 140 billion euros a year, the commission says.

No one is counting the benefits of central web sites

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:18:54 GMT

The government has not measured the benefits of its central internet services Directgov and Business.gov and the infrastructure service Government Gateway, the National Audit Office finds

Socitm 2011: Government Digital Service - what, why, where

Fri, 9 Dec 2011 09:51:55 GMT

Mike Bracken, executive director of digital at Cabinet Office, talks to UKAtv's Helen Olsen about why, and how, the Government Digital Service intends to change how citizens and business interact with government and enable the public sector to deliver on 'digital by default' services.

Government Digital Service goes live

Fri, 9 Dec 2011 17:33:46 GMT

The minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, has officially launched the Government Digital Service - the team charged with revolutionising the way citizens and business interact with government and delivering digital by default services.

Councils must end turf wars over digital inclusion

Fri, 9 Dec 2011 10:29:06 GMT

Local authorities are uniquely placed to tackle digital exclusion but their activity must be co-ordinated between departments to avoid wasting resources

Joined-up approach key to tackling fraud, and credit agencies can help

Wed, 7 Dec 2011 17:29:51 GMT

Central government, local government, housing bodies and private sector credit reference agencies (CRAs) must work together to combat tax and benefit fraud

Apathy or sympathy? Council websites join the strike

Wed, 7 Dec 2011 17:33:15 GMT

The reasons for a lack of public information on many council websites about service disruption due to public sector strikes are hard to determine, according to the author of a new report.

Minister promises to end social housing digital apartheid

Tue, 6 Dec 2011 11:56:41 GMT

Council tenants will today be promised an end to the "digital apartheid" that shuts them out of online savings enjoyed by others. Hosting a 'Digital by Default' summit, housing minister Grant Shapps will describe internet access as a necessity - not a luxury - in social housing.

Health monitoring at home to be extended as study shows success of trials

Tue, 6 Dec 2011 00:05:06 GMT

Socitm 2011: Mobile & flexible work, property consolidation

Mon, 5 Dec 2011 12:56:05 GMT

Glyn Evans, Socitm President & Corporate Director of Business Change, Birmingham City Council speaks to UKauthorITy.tv at Socitm 2011

Socitm 2011: The challenges facing local government and the role technology must play in addressing those challenges

Mon, 5 Dec 2011 14:29:26 GMT

David Hopkins, Deputy Leader of Milton Keynes Council, talks to UKauthorITy.tv about the challenges facing local government and the role technology must play in addressing those challenges

Socitm 2011: Three ways that LAs could support the third sector

Mon, 5 Dec 2011 12:55:47 GMT

Mark Walker, SCIP speaks with UKauthorITy.tv at Socitm 2011 about IT Services for Charities & Communities

Socitm 2011: How LAs can support the third sector, according to The Salvation Army

Mon, 5 Dec 2011 14:41:04 GMT

Martyn Croft, CIO, Salvation Army speaks with UKauthorITy.tv at Socitm 2011 about IT Services for Charities & Communities

Socitm 2011: Post-Bureaucratic Government, Open Platforms, and Innovation: Why Government IT should never be the same again

Mon, 5 Dec 2011 14:17:47 GMT

Mark Thompson, ICT Futures Advisor, Cabinet Office speaks to UKauthorITy.tv at Socitm 2011

Socitm 2011: We can't afford the future unless we change what we do!

Mon, 5 Dec 2011 14:06:13 GMT

Andy Burns, Director of Finance and Resources, Staffordshire County Council speaks to UKauthorITy.tv at Socitm 2011

Interactive map shows councils are saving millions

Mon, 5 Dec 2011 19:42:58 GMT

Councils are saving more than £156m a year through the sharing of services and are outperforming central government claims the Local Government Association (LGA).

Cameron hails opening of NHS data

Mon, 5 Dec 2011 06:46:08 GMT

Sharing NHS data with industry - to help Britain become a world leader in life sciences - is just the start of a government revolution in open data.

Let's end the local-central parlour game - Bracken

Fri, 2 Dec 2011 10:05:10 GMT

Whitehall's digital chief has invited local authorities to join central government's programme to develop a new generation of user-centred online public services.

IT in Use Magazine - November/December 2011 issue

Thu, 1 Dec 2011 11:08:37 GMT

The November/December issue of ITU is now available on UKauthorITy.com. View an electronic e-book version, read individual features/sections in pdf or download the entire magazine as a pdf.

Dudley is the ICT champion

Thu, 1 Dec 2011 21:41:17 GMT

Dudley metropolitan borough council has been named as the local authority with the best ICT service by the local IT professionals' association Socitm.

Christmas ad launches electronics recycling campaign

Thu, 1 Dec 2011 17:34:42 GMT

The electronic waste recycling industry is seeking to enlist the help of councils to boost the percentage of electrical and electronic devices which are recycled, before tough new European targets come into force.

Socitm 2011: Collaborate or die?

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:11:30 GMT

Geoff Connell, CIO, Newham speaks to UKauthorITy.tv at Socitm 2011

Socitm 2011: IT Leadership in Public Services

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:09:30 GMT

Martin Reeves, Chief Executive, Coventry City Council speaks to UKauthorITy.tv at Socitm 2011

Socitm 2011: Knowledge Sharing in Challenging Times: Collaboration for Public Services Reform

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:36:42 GMT

Sue Spafford, Managing Director, Wisdom 2u speaks to UKauthorITy.tv at Socitm 2011

Socitm 2011: Cloud-based services: it's happening and what needs to happen

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:10:49 GMT

Chris Ulliott, deputy Techncial Director, CESG speaks to UKauthorITy.tv at Socitm 2011

VIDEO REPORT: FLAG PLANTED, NOW MOVING FORWARDS

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:14:49 GMT

Local CIO Council chair, Jos Creese, joins the dots between central and local ICT strategies to help frontline organisations deliver better public services for less. Big savings can be delivered from this strategy says Creese, but they will only be a fraction of what can IT can deliver from a technology-enabled public service.

Third sector calls for IT support from local government

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:46:06 GMT

Volunteering, intelligent buying and working in partnership to with the Salvation Army to develop a social network are three of the ways local government could give support to the third sector, said two speakers at Soctim 2011 in Birmingham.

Stop behaving like victims, IT chiefs told

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:25:52 GMT

IT managers should stop whingeing and start having fun, a chief executive tells several hundred IT managers

DVLA ponders charges for data checks

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:54:29 GMT

Local authorities may have to pay to find out the names and addresses of rogue motorists, MPs have been told.

Economy gets a course of NHS information therapy

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:18:55 GMT

One of the lesser noticed items commitments in George Osborne's

Small cheers for budget statement as IT announcements could lift the gloom

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:37:07 GMT

Chancellor George Osborne has restated the government's commitment to improving broadband services across the UK.

VIDEO REPORT: End-user devices: Government Spend to be brought under control

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:51:07 GMT

Phil Pavitt, Director General for Change and CIO at HMRC, is a man with a mission - to drive suppliers of 'commodity' end-user devices "to treat the public sector as a client". According to Pavitt, the days of a £3,500 per annum PC are well and truly over and the new end-user devices framework will "disrupt the market" such that government will be able to consume these devices in the way that they want to buy them.

Hillingdon latest to enter the cloud

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:57:05 GMT

The London borough of Hillingdon last week joined Warwickshire among the first wave of councils moving to cloud computing ahead of the implementation of the government's central cloud strategy, with the announcement it will be moving its desktop software to Google Business Applications.

VIDEO REPORT: The Government ICT Strategy, SMEs and planning for change

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:00:44 GMT

Government's ICT strategy is moving forwards rapidly into full-on implementation. Deputy Government CIO, Bill McCluggage, talks to UKAtv about the unprecedented collaboration across government that has resulted in a united bid to get technology right, first time, and about the opportunities this brave new public sector technology world opens up for SMEs.

£65m to protect public services from cyber attack

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 09:27:05 GMT

A Cyber Security strategy published by the Cabinet Office announces that £650m will be spent in the area by 2016. The Ministry of Defence will receive 14% of this money, online public services 10%.

Councils fined for email errors

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:50:10 GMT

North Somerset council and Worcestershire county council have been fined thousands of pounds after erroneously sending out emails with confidential Information in them to the wrong people.

We have totality: schools admissions shows way to 'digital by default'

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:27:44 GMT

One in five English local authorities is now achieving electronic secondary school application levels of 80% or higher.

Top two departures leave ICT strategy in flux

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:37:59 GMT

Joe Harley, government chief information officer, has revealed that he will retire in April. The news came close on the heals of his deputy, Bill McCluggage, announcing a move to the private sector.

How to save a billion - scrap those invoices

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 06:36:47 GMT

The public sector could be missing out on as much as £3 billion a year in savings by failing to switch over to electronic invoicing, an industry group has said.

Procurements biased against UK firms, says Maude

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:59:44 GMT

The Cabinet Office encourages public bodies to talk to industry before launching procurements

Councils breached personal data 1,035 times over three years

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:00:22 GMT

A campaigning privacy group says one in three local authorities have admitted to losing hundreds of electronic files including personal details of vulnerable children

Online tax payback is still a closed book to HMRC

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:42:57 GMT

Five years after launching a big expansion in online filing of tax returns, HM Revenue and Customs still does not understand the costs and benefits

UK Online becomes national mutual pioneer

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:14:49 GMT

The UK online centres network has joined the first wave of public sector employee-led mutuals, the network's head Helen Milner announced this week. Milner and her team of 32 staff mostly based in Sheffield will take over management of the centres from 1 December.

Parliament ponders doubling the threshhold for e-petition debates

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:34:12 GMT

A proposed curb to the government controversial e-petition system will leave the public "outraged", the government has been warned. Natascha Engel, the MP in charge of selecting petitions for debate, attacked a suggestion that the threshold should be doubled.

Borderless e-government 'solution to euro-crisis'

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:22:34 GMT

Neelie Kroes, vice president of the European Commission, has outlined plans for more cross-border e-government

Borough outsources IT to schools partnership

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 11:11:29 GMT

Luton borough council is to outsource its ICT services to the Luton Learning and Community Partnership and contractor Civica. The 10-year deal, worth £34m, is part of a broader programme to save the council a total of £12.6m. Some 60 council employees will transfer to the private secto

That's not information, that's a person-centric data asset

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 06:40:12 GMT

In what is claimed to be the first move of its kind in the world, the government announced a scheme to allow individuals to take control of data businesses hold on them.

VIDEO REPORT: Government clouds take shape

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 23:30:18 GMT

Chris Chant, executive director at the Cabinet Office and G-Cloud programme director talks to UKAtv about the government’s implementation plans for cloud technology.

Sunderland announces cost-cutting cloud deal

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:22:30 GMT

The city council has signed a deal with IBM which it says will reduce operational costs by £1.4m a year

County prize for local IT innovations

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 15:29:49 GMT

Kent county council is offering £1,000 prizes for IT innovations

Dudley GP feels the heat of transparency blast

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:42:04 GMT

Ann Abraham, the Parliamentary and health service ombudsman, has made public for only the second time ever a report into one of her investigations

Council spending disclosure provides a £7m bonus for fraudsters

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:46:40 GMT

Local authorities are being fleeced of millions of pounds by criminals exploiting online transparency drives, the Audit Commission warns.

'Severe' web access problem could prevent channel shift

Wed, 9 Nov 2011 13:23:31 GMT

Inaccessible websites are preventing councils from maximising cost savings from shifting older and disabled citizens towards online self-service, according to the head of the UK's leading digital inclusion charity.

How will the 2012 Olympics affect local communities in a digital and mobile world? Are you ready to keep working?

Tue, 8 Nov 2011 17:12:39 GMT

Next year's Olympics will be the first to take place in a post iPhone and smartphone world, with 2012 organisers expecting, indeed planning, capacity for more than 10 times the volume of data across the network than at the Beijing Games - it will be the country's biggest real, and virtual, event. ITU Live will explore the technology that will make the Olympics accessible in real-time across the globe, at the challenge of getting it 'right first time' and ensuring that the country functions 'as normal' for the Games' duration, and at the legacy for local communities.

Leaner and greener - £8bn reward from 'ruthless rationalisation'

Tue, 8 Nov 2011 14:55:56 GMT

A new report claims that there is a potential £8bn prize to be won through ruthless rationalisation of public sector estates.

PSN flavour for Warwickshire network

Mon, 7 Nov 2011 11:16:19 GMT

Warwickshire county council has deployed a county-wide PSN-compliant network to manage and share services with fire and rescue, schools and the district councils. UKauthorITt.tv talks to Stuart Smith, head of public sector at network supplier, Alcatel Lucent, about this emphasis on the Public Services Network.

Maude plans 'Tell Us How' crowdsourcing website

Mon, 7 Nov 2011 00:03:21 GMT

Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, wants all public sector workers to log on 'Tell Us How', the crowd-sourcing website he is setting up.

Address mis-matches plague voter registration plan

Sun, 6 Nov 2011 14:03:08 GMT

Individual electoral registration is a good idea - but MPs find plenty of technical hitches

Big IT bounces back with £350m DWP deal

Thu, 3 Nov 2011 13:08:20 GMT

Government's biggest spender continues to rely on the largest IT suppliers to implement ambitious reforms.

E-learning savings: coming soon to a PlayStation near you

Thu, 3 Nov 2011 17:37:17 GMT

£10m injection for ID assurance plan

Wed, 2 Nov 2011 16:43:39 GMT

The Cabinet Office finds £10m to stimulate work to create a market in personal identity systems

Green ICT plan: it's the economy, stupid

Tue, 1 Nov 2011 12:36:22 GMT

The Cabinet Office's "Greening government: ICT strategy", a sub-section of its wider ICT strategy, has missed a trick in failing to stress the economic imperatives for energy efficiency.

Crowdsourcing engineers disaster relief in Pakistan

Tue, 1 Nov 2011 07:01:31 GMT

An innovative online system combining mobile technologies and crowdsourcing to help co-ordinate the emergency response to last year's floods in Pakistan could form a model for other social support systems in developing countries, from reporting corruption to monitoring road accidents.

Political colour no barrier to sharing services

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:09:59 GMT

A major survey shows most public sector bodies are sharing or planning to share services - but have little faith in central IT initiatives