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WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
| The Cold War heats up as the cyber threat increases |
| To help deliver its mission to keep the UK safe, GCHQ is always looking to recruit the very best computer scientists. That is why it is launching the Cyber Insiders Summer School. Aimed at computer science students in their 1st or 2nd year at university who have an interest in cyber beyond that of their university studies (& skills in at least one computer language), it will deliver a high-quality, 10-week cyber training programme, running 6 July – 11 September 2015. |
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Bristol City Council “Collaborates” to Improve Front-Line Services and Citizen Access |
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In response to cuts in central government funding, Bristol City Council recently embarked on a major transformation programme in a bid to shave £70 million from its annual operating budget and simultaneously deliver more services. Despite severe funding restrictions, Bristol CC was able to implement a unified document management and collaboration platform to overhaul its electronic document and records management systems, enabling the delivery of efficiency improvements in a variety of Council services. Key benefits of the implementation include:
Click here to access the full Bristol CC case study and discover more. |
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| Would this help resolve the West Lothian question? |
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English local government & the services it provides are no longer sustainable in their current form, the Independent Commission on Local Government Finance (an independent commission) is warning. It argues that the future of local services is dependent on local authorities becoming largely self-sufficient and less reliant on central government. Key reforms necessary include greater freedom over jobs, housing & care, a single budget for public services in an area and a devolved model of taxation based on new arrangements for Scotland. This would include reform of council tax & business rates along with devolution of some existing national taxes like income tax & VAT. |
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| More logical than a mansion tax to raise funds for NHS |
| Overseas visitors who need healthcare while in England will soon be charged differently for using the NHS in order to recoup £500m a year. From April 2015, the way the NHS charges these visitors is being changed so that it does not lose out on income from migrants, visitors & former residents of the UK who have left, who should all pay for their care while in England. The changes will affect visitors & former UK residents differently, depending on where they now live. |
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| Sadly the guidance is necessary |
| NICE has published a new briefing to ‘help local authorities & partner organisations put older people’s needs at the heart of the care given by residential & nursing homes’. |
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| Implementation is always the main issue |
| A new report from The King’s Fund has called for fundamental changes in ‘how health services are commissioned, paid for and regulated to deliver the vision set out in the NHS five year forward view’. The Forward View, published in October 2014, set out how NHS services will need to change in future. It has been endorsed by all 3 main political parties and will set the agenda for NHS reform in the next parliament. The report argues that dealing with growing financial & service pressures could crowd out the time & space needed to implement long-term changes to NHS services. |
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| Less sleep, much less money, but many moments of joy |
| With just 8 weeks to go until mums & dads with babies due on or after 5 April 2015 can start sharing up to 50 weeks of parental leave. 285,000 working couples a year are expected to be eligible for Shared Parental Leave (SPL) with parents giving their employers 8 weeks’ notice of the pattern of leave they intend to take. |
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| How much is that operation! |
| Monitor & NHS England have written to all providers of NHS services outlining interim arrangements for operating the NHS payment system, pending a final decision on the way forward on the national tariff for 2015-16. A majority of NHS providers formally objected to the original proposals and Monitor now has to decide whether to re-consult on a revised package or refer the matter to the CMA. |
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| Knowing something is important, but knowing how to ensure the information is used is critical |
| RCUK and PraxisUnico are working together to deliver a competition to reward & recognize knowledge exchange, technology transfer & commercialisation professionals (KEC) who have excelled in enabling & facilitating the achievement of impact from the outcomes of research. Competition closes at midnight on 16 April 2015. |
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| Support for families |
| Registration for the new Marriage Allowance for married couples and those in civil partnerships is now open. A spouse or civil partner who doesn’t pay tax, or doesn’t pay tax above the basic rate of income tax, can transfer up to £1,060 of their personal tax-free allowance to a spouse or civil partner – as long as the recipient of the transfer doesn’t pay more than the basic rate of income tax. |
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More news, opinions, documents, claims & counter-claims; |
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