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WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
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| Like plastic bags, England follows their lead |
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The PM has announced the intention to launch a public consultation on increasing rates of organ donation. The proposals will include a new opt-out system for organ donation for England. The consultation will be launched by the end of the year. In 2016 to 2018 there were 1,169 deceased organ donors and 3,293 transplants in England. While this was the highest ever rate of organ donation, there are still more people waiting for transplants than there are organs available. It means some people die before a suitable organ becomes available. There are particularly long waiting times for those in black & minority ethnic (BAME) communities. Consent rates for organ donation are also low in these communities, at around 35% compared to 66% in the white population. Under the current system, anyone wishing to donate their organs has to opt in via the registration & organ donor card scheme run by NHS Blood and Transplant. A family member can also agree to the donation of organs if the person had not made their wishes known. The consultation will outline ways to increase rates of organ donation and propose a new approach where every person would be deemed to have given consent unless they choose to opt out. |
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Cabinet Office: Government announces consultation on organ donation opt-out system WAG: Families in Wales encouraged to “have the chat” about organ donation wishes ‘Organ donation figures moving in right direction’ – Vaughan Gething UK first, Welsh organ donation system celebrates first anniversary Rise in number of lives saved or improved by an organ transplant ScotGov: Increasing organ & tissue donation Increasing organ donation and transplantation More lives saved by organ transplants |
| A worrying trend |
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New research from Demos think tank mapping the behaviour & decision-making of young people online identifies a shockingly high incidence of hostile online behaviour towards peers – often linked to having previously experienced abuse on social media. Significantly, it highlights the strong relationship between offline & online character and morality in young people. |
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Demos: Quarter of young Brits confess to ‘bullying or insulting’ someone online Capture & report bullies in action Being ‘orientated differently’ is not a crime and is ‘normal’ |
| Could it be adapted for terrorist propaganda too? |
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The UK government is investing £600,000 in technology that allows internet companies to identify & remove indecent images of children from websites at an unprecedented rate. Project Arachnid, which is being developed by the Canadian reporting service CyberTipline, part of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, can be deployed across websites, forums, chat services & newsgroups to instantaneously detect illegal content, before sending a take-down notice to service providers so they can quickly protect children from further exploitation. Now firms including social media companies will be able to ‘plug in’ Project Arachnid into their system in order to identify & flag for removal indecent imagery even in ‘closed environments’ that only users and the company can see. |
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Home Office to crack down on online child sexual abuse with new cutting-edge technology They should hide their ‘Faces’ in shame Fancy a ‘worthwhile’ career challenge? They know ‘How to’, but many lack judgement/knowledge of the risk & dangers And here is another area of ‘digital concern’ It’s a big, bad e-world out there, but very enticing for children |
| SME Supplier Locator update... |
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UK Government and public sector spend with SME’s is continually on the increase and by 2020, it is the stated intent of Cabinet Office that £1 of every £3 spent on government contracts goes to SME’s. The past 5 years have seen government make a priority of getting money through its supply chain into the hands of SMEs, by both setting targets and introducing new procurement mechanisms. Against this backdrop, the WiredGov Supplier Locator service has been developed specifically to embrace the SME Agenda and provide the ideal platform for SME’s to promote their services, solutions, accreditation and success stories directly to our ever increasing audience across all government and public sector verticals and Tier 1 suppliers. |
| Be honest, do you read T&Cs? |
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The Children’s Commissioner has launched the next step in her drive to give children the power, information and resilience they need to thrive in the digital world. In ‘Growing Up Digital’ she called for mandatory Digital Citizenship in schools. The child-friendly guide & teacher resource we have developed with TES and the privacy law firm Schillings will help children to understand what they are signing up to when they use Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and WhatsApp and be a valuable resource for thousands of teachers across the country. Children have the right to know what they are signing up to, in clear, simple, easy to understand language so that they can make the most of the fantastic opportunities social media and the internet can bring. |
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| A timely change in the law |
| A long-standing barrier to survivors of childhood abuse in Scotland being able to take civil legal action pursuing damages has been abolished. The commencement of the Limitation (Childhood Abuse) (Scotland) Act 2017 means survivors of child abuse no longer face the ‘time-bar’ that requires personal injury actions for civil damages to be made within three years of the related incident. |
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ScotGov: Legal milestone for child abuse victims Ministers visit Icelandic children’s house |
| Provides a break from the cyber world too! |
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Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has welcomed an independent report that praises the work of Cadet Forces across the country. The benefits outlined in the report include increasing social mobility, contributing directly to the PM’s vision for a ‘shared society’ and helping kids from disadvantaged backgrounds. MoD: Cadet Forces increase social mobility and help disadvantaged kids reach potential, report finds |
| We don’t want to eat ‘plastic’ fish |
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Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey has set out how the UK is taking action to tackle marine litter and protect oceans from the effects of climate change at the recent ‘Our Ocean’ conference in Malta. |
| Something needs to be done! |
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The government has invited views on how reward & return schemes for drinks containers could work in England by issuing a call for evidence– (closes on 30 October 2017). More than 8m tonnes of plastic are discarded into the world’s oceans each year, putting marine wildlife under serious threat. Up to 80% of this is estimated to have been originally lost or discarded on land before washing out to sea, and plastic bottles are a particular concern - with figures showing just 57% of those sold in the UK in 2016 collected for recycling. |
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Defra: Views sought on reward & return schemes for drinks containers |
| Simple test gets more accurate |
| A major NHS England funded study is expected to almost halve the number of invasive procedures by 2020 by improving the accuracy of home-testing kits that detect bowel cancer from invisible amounts of blood. |
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CRUK: Follow-up colonoscopy cuts bowel cancer cases in some people CRUK: One-off bowel scope cuts cancer risk for at least 17 years CRUK: Researchers find key to drug resistant bowel cancer CRUK: Men with a high genetic chance of bowel cancer could have lower risk with healthy lifestyles CRUK: 1 in 5 emergency bowel cancer patients had symptoms before diagnosis Drive to increase bowel screening participation |
| Be careful and make a timely claim |
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Continuing NHS Healthcare is a package of care provided free-of-charge by the NHS for people with complex & primarily health-based needs. This can be provided in a care home or an individual’s own home. Potential claimants have until October 31st 2017 to register their intent to make a claim for continuing healthcare costs which were incurred between 1 October 2015 and 31 October 2016. The NHS will provide advice to claimants and will complete all of the work required to review their case free of charge. This is not a legal process and there is no requirement for people to appoint a solicitor. However, if a solicitor is used, these costs cannot be reimbursed. All claims will be reviewed within six months of the NHS having all the information that it needs. |
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WAG: Deadline approaching for people to claim for their care |
| Are you an industry leader in health & social care? We want to hear from you |
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Nominations are now open for techUK members to join our Health and Social Care Council. This is an excellent opportunity to shape techUK’s Health & Social Care Programme and work with stakeholders and the wider tech industry to transform the sector. You will provide leadership on critical policy issues related to health and social care transformation, and help promote engagement between stakeholders and the tech industry. Apply by 3 November 2017 to help us shape the future of the health and social care technology industry. |
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| A nation of animal lovers? |
| Animal abusers who commit the most heinous crimes could face up to 5 years in prison under new plans set to be unveiled by Environment Secretary Michael Gove (currently the maximum sentence is 6 months). |
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Defra: Sentences for animal cruelty to increase tenfold to 5 years RSPCA should step back from prosecutions except in exceptional cases NIA Committee Supports Greater Penalties to Protect Animal Welfare Mandatory CCTV in all slaughterhouses under new animal welfare plans Brexit: farm animal welfare - report published 5% decrease in number of scientific procedures on animals Welfare insights on slaughter of pregnant animals New plans to crack down on backstreet puppy breeders Lesley Griffiths: “Give Socks Not Dogs” and encourage responsible dog ownership this Christmas FSA welcomes sentencing of slaughterhouse operative LGA: Councils warn of illegal puppy trade |
| Cost as well as legislation changing |
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As the ICO counts down to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) taking effect next May, they wanted to clarify how the fees that data controllers have to pay to the ICO are changing. ICO fee & registration changes next year |
| There is no such thing as a free lunch |
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Fraudsters are posing as officials from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and are cold calling people stating that they are eligible for a Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) claim. Action Fraud: Alert: PPI fraudsters claiming to be from the FCA |
| Entering the 21st century |
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The DVSA has confirmed that the driving test in England, Scotland & Wales will change from Monday 4 December 2017. The changes are designed to make sure new drivers have the skills they’ll need to help them through a lifetime of safe driving. DVSA: Driving test changes: 4 December 2017 |
| We live in hope! |
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Broadband shoppers must receive better information about speeds before they commit to a contract, under a range of new protections set out by Ofcom last week. Broadband is now an essential service for many households & companies, and speed is a vital factor when shopping around for the right deal. But there can be a mismatch between what broadband customers believe they are buying, and what they actually receive. Ofcom is proposing to enhance its existing Codes of Practice, which commit internet companies who have signed up to them to give customers an estimated range of speeds they are likely to receive, as well as the right to exit their contracts penalty-free if their speed falls below a minimum level. |
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| Name that hill |
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Ever wondered what the name of that hill is in the distance? Or how far away a town is from the spot you are standing in? Well, all you need is a mobile phone or tablet and Ordnance Survey’s new augmented reality feature will do the rest! Ordnance Survey: Augmented reality to help people see beyond the map |
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Still a ‘hot topic’, with widely spread views, for those who put fingers to keyboard in order to ‘share their views’: |
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DExEU: Davis - Every region must flourish after Brexit Defra: Environment Secretary meets Northern Irish industry leaders on the future of UK agriculture ScotGov: Ireland has ‘an ally’ in Scotland WAG: Economy Secretary speaks to business about challenges of EU Exit President Juncker on the State of Play of the Digital Single Market CBI: Urgent EU data-deal can protect UK businesses worth £240bn |
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