WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
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 on the Government’s pledge that 25% of all direct and indirect central government spend should be with SMEs by 2015 but there is still a great deal more work to be done. Against this backdrop, our 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. The most recent arrivals to the Supplier Locator include:
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If it wasn’t for Grexit and Tunisia this would be front page news |
The protection of children is one of the most serious & important responsibilities entrusted to the police service. In a time of changing communities – both real & virtual – the police service must reassess their approach to child protection, or risk failing another generation. Although all forces have strategies & policies in place that are designed to ensure children are effectively protected & safeguarded (i.e. protected from further harm), and senior leaders are clear in the priority they place on this area of policing, HMIC’s inspections found that the plans articulated by senior officers have ‘failed as yet to result in consistently good services for children’. On too many occasions HMIC found that investigations were poor & plagued by delay, and the response to reports of offences against children – ranging from online grooming to domestic abuse – was inadequate. |
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Root & Branch’ reform is so difficult to achieve despite the best of intentions Not surprising crime figures fall if reports of crimes are ignored! CQC updates information on 'safeguarding' children & adults in England CQC: Our roles & responsibilities for safeguarding children & adults |
Should we make the police involved in protecting & safeguarding children do something similar? |
The new Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) revalidation process for community nurses & midwives is a ‘wake up’ call for nurses to prepare the necessary requirements needed to continue to work in health & social care and for NHS employers to provide community nurses with the support & training to help engage with the revalidation requirements. From April 2016, they will have to revalidate every 3 years to remain on the NMC register, a compulsory requirement if they wish to maintain registration to work in health & social care. All nurses & midwives will be required to complete an annual 450 hours of nursing practice, plus 40 hours of continuing professional development (CPD) every 3 years, collect 5 pieces of feedback from patients & colleagues, and provide 5 written reflections relating to the NMC code of conduct. |
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‘Wake up’ call as community nurses express concern about new NMC revalidation process |
It’s not just Greeks who live in Greece |
The Greek government has announced a bank holiday until 6 July and implemented restrictions on its banking system. International payments into Greece are exempt from these restrictions. UK government payments, including State Pension and public service pension payments, will continue to be made into Greek accounts in the usual way. The DWP will attempt to contact people that draw a British State Pension from a Greek bank account, and help people to switch these payments to a non-Greek bank account if they wish. |
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DWP: Greek bank accounts: advice about State Pension & welfare payments |
LAs are calling for health precautions as temperatures rise |
With temperatures soaring to up to 30˚+ Celsius in some parts of the country, the Local Government Association warns that the elderly & those suffering from respiratory problems are most at risk. |
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LGA: The heatwave arrives – Precautions called for by councils as the nation bakes 2015 Heatwave Plan for England RoSPA issues water safety message as the hot weather hits Drunk 17 year old 'tombstones' from Plymouth Hoe – straight into hospital Last decade sees dramatic increase in chance of extreme hot European summers Environment Agency teams rescue thousands of fish distressed by the heatwave Employers urged to cool down their workplaces and their staff |
Defence Expenditure is no longer just about ‘hardware’ |
The MoD is looking for new techniques & methods to provide military context of cyber activities. Its Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is seeking innovative ways to interact with cyberspace to help commanders understand the cyber component of the military situation. Dstl’s Centre for Defence Enterprise is launching a competition for industry & academia to present new ways to help MOD understand, interact & predict outcomes within cyberspace. |
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Dstl: Understand & interact with cyberspace Chatham House: Connecting the digital divides - Technology & cyber policy experts launch new journal BCS: SFIA version 6 launched to drive the digital age BCS and the Tech Partnership put professional development high on agenda for IT specialists |
Only a ‘team effort’ can provide 24/7 cyber vigilance |
Organizations can be more effective in preventing & responding to cyber-attacks by ensuring effective collaboration between those responsible for cyber resilience and IT Service Management (ITSM) teams, according to a new white paper by AXELOS Global Best Practice. Despite the numerous overlaps between cyber resilience and ITSM, many organizations manage them in independent silos, which results in unhelpful conflicts. The white paper – Cyber resilience and ITSM: working together to secure the information your business relies on – argues that there needs to be real collaboration between cyber resilience and ITSM to ensure risks are properly managed. |
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AXELOS: Cyber Resilience & ITSM CESG: Guidance on Security Operations & Management now available on GOV.UK It is an increasingly dangerous Cyber World out there You may get more than you wanted purchasing online A cost that increases even faster than house prices in London |
Provision of a service does not mean people know about it |
Disabled patients are set to benefit from improved healthcare after a new law comes into force to ensure information they receive is clear, consistent & easy to understand. The Accessible Information Standard will be implemented on 31 July 2016 and aims to provide people who have a disability, impairment or sensory loss with information that they can easily read or understand. This means informing organisations how to make sure people get information in different formats, for example in large print, braille or via a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter. All organisations that provide NHS or adult social care are required to follow the new standard. |
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Not only the NHS that needs to ‘get its message out’ |
HMRC is piloting new British Sign Language services for deaf customers working with the Royal Association for Deaf People (RAD). Deaf customers, who are able to handle their own affairs but cannot speak to HMRC directly, can now use video relay with a BSL interpreter via a webcam, and the interpreter will be able to talk directly to an HMRC adviser on the phone to create a 3-way ‘real time’ conversation. |
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If we ignore history we will forget its lessons |
The public will be invited to the Thiepval Memorial in France on 1 July 2016 to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. The joint Anglo-French event is expected to attract great public interest, so tickets 8,000 tickets will be allocated in pairs, free of charge, through a public online ballot. The ballot will be open to residents of the UK, France & Ireland on 28 September 2015. The Somme was one of the bloodiest battles of the WW1, resulting in over 1m casualties. |
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DCMS: Register your interest in the 2016 Somme Centenary Ballot |
Being ‘orientated differently’ is not a crime and is ‘normal’ |
The government have launched their £2m fund to tackle homophobic, biphobic & transphobic bullying in schools. It intends to share the lessons learned from these projects more widely with schools, so that they have the knowledge & tools to tackle this issue more effectively. In addition, the Government has launched a new Stop Online Abuse website to help people take action against offensive, damaging or threatening content in all forms of media, particularly online. The website provides practical advice for women & LGB&T people on how to recognise abuse, steps to take to report it and how to get offensive content removed. |
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DfE: Celebrating Pride in London NHS England: NHS drive for action to tackle trans inequalities |
Information for those who left the armed forces between December 2008 & September 2011 |
If you have now left the armed forces and had administrative action taken against you as a result of a police caution between December 2008 and September 2011, it may be that you have grounds for a complaint. |
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MoD: Information for those who left the armed forces between December 2008 and September 2011 |
175m numbers set to benefit |
From 1 July 2015, all Freephone numbers which begin 0800 or 0808 will became free for consumers to call from all phones, whether mobile or landline. In addition, landline & mobile charges will become clearer for calls to service numbers starting 084, 087, 09 and 118. |
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Ofcom: Call charges clearer from Wednesday EU News: Commission welcomes agreement to end roaming charges and to guarantee an open Internet |
Have you made an impact? |
GSK and The King’s Fund have launched the 2016 GSK IMPACT Awards, which will be open for applications from UK charities until 25 September 2015. The awards are open to charities with an annual income of between £25,000 & £2m that are at least 3 years old. The name ‘IMPACT’ derives from the criteria that winners must have demonstrated in their application submissions: Innovation, Management, Partnership, Achievement, Community Focus and Targeting Need. |
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Kings Fund: 2016 GSK IMPACT Awards calls for applications from health & wellbeing charities |
£ up, savings protection down |
The government has introduced legislation which will ensure that retail customers & small businesses will continue to receive deposit protection of up to £85,000 until 31 December 2015, after which a new limit of £75,000 will come into effect. As the value of the £ has increased, it is necessary to reduce the limit. Over 95% of retail depositors will continue to be fully protected by the FSCS’s new deposit protection limit following the reduction. |
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Will it be the same after the budget? |
Tax-Free Childcare will be available to up to 1.8m households to help with the cost of childcare, enabling more parents to go out to work, if they want to, to provide greater security for their families. Here are the top 10 things to know about the scheme. |
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More news, opinions, documents, claims & counter-claims; |
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WAG: Minister announces plans for a smooth transition to Welsh taxes |