WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

Truly a ‘Life & Death’ issue

Search for tool to determine between bacterial & viral infections to fight antimicrobial resistance has won £10m Longitude prize.  One of the problems contributing to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the lack of a simple test to tell doctors when an infection is caused by bacteria and should be treated by antibiotics.  Incorrect use of antibiotics to treat viral infections gives bacteria the chance to develop resistance (without providing any benefit to the individual) and so later down the line, when you really do need an antibiotic, there might not be one that works.  5,000 people die each year in the UK from antibiotic resistant infections.

In a second press release, the PM wants Britain to lead the way, using its international leadership & world-class pharmaceutical sector to battle against antimicrobial resistant infections and bring new drugs to the world market.  No new classes of antibiotics have come on the market for more than 25 years.  Mr Cameron has commissioned a wide reaching independent review, co-funded & hosted by the Wellcome Trust, to explore the economic issues surrounding antimicrobial resistance.

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Beyond good intentions - The need to move from intention to action to manage information

Information is the oxygen of every organisation, it is essential and everywhere. It includes knowledge and learning, system generated data, product and customer information, day-to-day communications, archived paper documentation, together with corporate intellectual property.

But with a larger volume, variety and type of information comes risks – risks that are wide ranging and if not properly managed and/or mitigated can have a critical and damaging business impact.

This latest in-depth report, produced by PwC in conjunction with Iron Mountain, provides recent industry comparisons, authoritative guidance, best practice advice and case studies, as well as addressing the following:

  • Responsibility for information: is it in the hands of the right people? 
  • Exploiting data to its full potential 
  • What are the best organisations doing differently? 
  •  Adopting best practice: Information Governance

Submit your details here to download your free copy of this latest report now:

 
There is no justification for either male or female domestic violence or abuse

In the week when the Gender-Based Violence, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Bill goes before the National Assembly, the Welsh Government has launched an awareness campaign asking people to make a stand against all forms of such violence & abuse.   WAG is asking the people of Wales to openly declare their intolerance of these types of abuse by posting photographs of themselves linking arms on social media.

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It’s like running a car; the older we get the more ‘maintenance’ we need

15m NHS patients in England with long-term conditions such as diabetes, arthritis & asthma account for 70% of the annual expenditure of the NHS in England, the House of Commons Health Committee says in a report on a major inquiry into managing the care of people with long-term conditions.

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The effects of bullying at school can last a lifetime

Pupils from 2 North Wales schools are celebrating after winning a Welsh Government competition in which pupils in primary & secondary schools were invited to produce storyboards or film clips, which showed the causes and effects of bullying.

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We have no ‘right’ to source cheap food from abroad

Extreme weather events and increased demand for foodstuffs from emerging economies such as China need DEFRA leadership to guarantee the UK’s long-term food security, say MPs.

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Challenges & dangers our children might face

This latest publication is the 5th edition of Global Strategic Trends (GST). It examines a 30-year outlook of a broad range of regional and thematic trends including the environment, health, education, automation, information, identity and transport.

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Hopefully this will resolve a perennial problem

A new child maintenance system has come into force – supporting more families to work together, while maintaining a heavily subsidised service for those who really need it.  The phased closure of the Child Support Agency (CSA) now begins, as it gradually closes its cases over the next 3 years.  These parents will now have the choice to make their own maintenance arrangements between themselves or use the new Child Maintenance Service (CMS).

New fees have also been introduced for families which choose to use the CMS, as well as tough new enforcement charges for the small minority of absent parents who try to evade their responsibilities – those who, for example, have to be pursued through the courts or have maintenance deducted from their earnings.

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More opportunity to ‘tune in’

Ofcom is advertising a licence to run a 2nd national digital radio ‘multiplex’, which will expand the number of digital radio stations & provide more choice for listeners.  The new multiplex will allow around 10 new national Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) radio services to broadcast to UK listeners.  The closing date for receiving applications is 30 October 2014.

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Shouldn’t that be Mystery Supplier Service?

The government’s Mystery Shopper service continues to improve the way public sector organisations buy goods & services.  Mystery Shopper allows anyone to report issues that they encounter in supplying the public sector, and a review of the impact of the service, which is now 3 years old, shows that 79% of all closed cases have resulted in a positive outcome.

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More contributions to the Referendum debate
Scotland Flag More news, opinions, documents, claims & counter-claims;
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Essential reading for SNP when planning possible realistic timelines?

ICT managers undertaking new product & service developments should consider the Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) says Socitm in a new briefing.

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An evening to be proud

The Red Arrows, Queen's Colour Squadron and King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery are set to perform on the evening of 10 September for the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games, the international sports event for ‘wounded warriors’ launched by Prince Harry.

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SME LOCATOR AND INDUSTRY NEWS
Your Gateway to Public Sector Business

In March 2011, Her Majesty’s Government announced that 25% of all direct and indirect central government spend should be with SMEs by 2015, a truly ambitious target, given that annual government and public sector expenditure on goods and services is currently £230Billion (or £1 of every £7 spent in the UK).

Many of WiredGov’s stakeholder departments within Central Government (including HM Treasury, Cabinet Office, Home Office, BIS and DCLG) have been working hard to deliver this aspiration with direct spend to SMEs increasing from 6.5% in 2009/10 to 10.5% in 2012/13 but there is obviously a great deal more work to be done.

‘Small businesses and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the British economy and I am determined that we, working with private sector do everything we can to help them start up and grow.’
The Rt Hon David Cameron MP, Prime Minister
Against the above backdrop, WiredGov is delighted to announce the launch of 2 new services ‘SME Locator’ and ‘Industry News’ in July 2014.

These combined new services are being 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.

Is your company an SME that’s currently supplying to the UK public sector?

If so, click here to find out more and receive further information about how to register with these 2 exciting new services.