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WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
Are your vendors and other business partners putting your organisation at risk? How compliant with information security standards and government regulations the 3rd parties your organisation does business with? Your own organisation may have a secure IT infrastructure, but third parties can make it vulnerable to breaches, which often result in corporate data theft, brand damage and hefty fines. Consequently, you must conduct risk assessment audits of these suppliers, consultants, contractors, service providers and partners. This latest white paper details how a government organisation can quickly and precisely identify security and compliance gaps among third parties, as well as internally among its employees. Click here below to download this latest white paper now. |
| Hope the funding is there to facilitate the implementation |
| NHS England has set out plans to provide more support for pregnant women & new mums suffering mental illness as well as to improve care for the many people with mental health problems attending A&E in crisis. |
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| Reducing the risks of future ‘Japanese Knotweed, Dutch Elm Disease & possibly Triffids’ |
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Defra’s new website - the Plant Health Portal will make it easier for plant health professionals to share & use vital information on plant pests & diseases, unlocking the power of data to better assess threats and determine action to tackle them. The portal was first proposed in 2014’s Plant Biosecurity Strategy for Great Britain, which provided an overview of activity taking place across the UK to improve plant biosecurity. It gives access to a wide range of information about plant health from both Government & non-Government sources, including charities and academic organisations concerned with protecting plant health, like the Royal Horticultural Society. |
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Defra: New portal to unlock the power of data to tackle plant health threats Plant biosecurity strategy nears completion |
| Sir Hogan-Howe got the Knighthood for being the ‘top (responsible) cop’, so why not remove it for his force’s ‘failures’? |
| HMIC report reveals 75% of child abuse cases handled inadequately by Met Police. Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England said: “It is deeply worrying that the Met Police has not yet got to grips with the way it tackles child abuse and sexual exploitation”. |
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Unlike Manchester, No TV headlines for this report! Home Secretary's College of Policing speech on vulnerability IPCC update on investigation into Essex Police’s north Child Abuse Investigations Team |
| 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. |
| A lot of ‘Give & Take’ required |
| Managing expectations is crucial to the success of shared living arrangements, suggests recent research into what life is like for those who share a house with people who are not family members. As shared living is clearly on the increase, then greater awareness of the factors which enable shared housing to work and how this should be achieved is increasingly important, researchers conclude. |
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ESRC: Low expectations key to successful house sharing Friends over 50 living together - a rising trend New measures tackle overcrowded housing Homeshare opens new doors to independent living for older and younger people JRF:6 in 10 households below decent living standard have someone in work, despite record employment Demos: Hand Housing Back to Communities to Solve Building Crisis First wave of Starter Homes to begin with £8m government funding New measures to tackle rogue landlords & overcrowded housing |
| Back to the historical training route |
| Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced a new nursing degree apprenticeship, opening up a career in nursing to more people. The first apprentice nurses could be working on wards from September 2017, and once established, up to 1,000 apprentice nurses could join the NHS each year. Aspiring nurses will join the apprenticeship at different stages, depending on their qualifications & experience, and stay in work whilst learning. |
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DH: New nursing degree apprenticeship |
| Back in step |
| The minimum age of criminal responsibility in Scotland is to be increased to 12, under plans set out by the Minister for Childcare & Early Years. At 8 years old, Scotland currently has the lowest minimum age of criminal responsibility in Europe and this move will bring the country in line with UN and international standards. The minimum age in England & Wales is 10. The increase will include safeguards to allow the police to deal with & investigate the most serious & exceptional offences involving under 12s. |
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ScotGov: Minimum age of criminal responsibility Age of criminal responsibility - GOV.UK It's time to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility - Children's Parliament |
| You are not alone in your bedroom! |
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Thousands of people in the UK are likely to be falling victim to ‘sextortion’ every year, according to the National Crime Agency and National Police Chiefs Council. Victims in the NCA cases are aged between 14 & 82, with the highest proportion being men aged between 21 & 30, and with a substantial proportion in the 11-20 age group. Sextortion is a form of blackmail where criminals use fake identities to befriend victims online and then persuade them to perform sexual acts in front of their webcam. These webcam images are recorded by the criminals who then threaten to share them with the victims’ friends & family unless they are paid. Sometimes there are escalating requests for further payment. At least 4 suicides in the UK have been linked to this form of blackmail. The NCA’s Anti-Kidnap and Extortion Unit (AKEU) has been alerted by police forces to 864 cases of financially motivated webcam blackmail so far in 2016, more than double the figure from the whole of the previous year (385). Officers believe there is likely to be significant under-reporting and that actual numbers are much higher. In response to the increase, the NCA and NPCC have launched a new campaign to give advice to those who have been, or are likely to be, targeted. |
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National Crime Agency: Help available for webcam blackmail victims: don’t panic, and don’t pay |
| Need to take action? |
| Camelot UK Lotteries has confirmed an incident that they estimate affects around 26,500 online player accounts. They are in the process of contacting them all. The National Cyber Security Centre has been working with the National Crime Agency and Camelot UK Lotteries to investigate the incident. |
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National Cyber Security Centre: Camelot UK Lotteries Incident |
| Help make it happen |
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The Homelessness Reduction Bill, aims to ensure a greater focus on the prevention of homelessness and offers some increased protection for single homeless people and childless couples. On 28 October 2016, the Homelessness Reduction Bill passed its Second Reading of the House of Commons with MPs from all parties speaking in support and also with the support of the Government. It is therefore vital that the current momentum is not lost. To this end, we are encouraging members & service users to contact their local MP to ask them to actively back the Bill at Report Stage. Please download the draft letter, which can be adapted & used for that purpose. |
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HL: Homelessness Reduction Bill Back The Bill documents (scroll down) Increased priority with the colder weather |
| Plain speaking |
| The Work & Pensions Committee report condemns Concentrix and HMRC for their "gross failure of customer service" and building a decision making process "stacked against claimants". |
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PC&PE: Concentrix and HMRC condemned for "gross failure of customer service" |
| Giving nuclear power a future |
| NDA welcomes the launch of the Nuclear Skills Strategic Plan to ensure UK nuclear employers, including the supply chain, can recruit skilled people at the required rate to meet the sector’s ambitious forward programme. |
| Register to avoid non/late-payment fines |
| HMRC is urging first-time Self-Assessment customers to register for a Personal Tax Account and see how easy submitting a tax return is. |
| Can you believe it! |
| Barnsley council is frontrunner for the UK’s most Scrooge-like local authority, after it denied health visitors & community nurses an extra day’s holiday given to the rest of the workforce for receiving an Investing in People award. |
| Enough food for everybody |
| WWF-UK has partnered with global catering provider Sodexo to reduce the environmental impact of the meals they serve by creating healthier and more sustainable menu choices. By combining WWF’s LiveWell principles with Sodexo’s Better Tomorrow ethos, Sodexo has created a range of meals called “Green & Lean”. |
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WWF and Sodexo - An appetite for change through Green & Lean |
| ‘Remoaners’ not united in their opinions |
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A new poll reveals a striking lack of consensus among the 48% who voted for Britain to remain in the European Union. The polling, conducted on behalf of the New Economics Foundation by GQR, highlights stark differences of opinion between Remain voters, particularly on immigration and free movement of EU citizens. Elsewhere, it reveals striking similarities among many Remain voters with attitudes associated with those who voted for Brexit. Both sides are more concerned about the future of the UK’s public services than its relationship with the EU. |
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| Is this more or less important than membership of Single Market to Scotland? |
| The UK Government must give urgent reassurance that its Brexit plans will not harm Dundee’s opportunity to bid to become the 2023 European Capital of Culture, Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said last week. |
| More plans for United States of Europe |
| Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc said, "…… This is also an important first step towards our plans to create an EU-wide road charging system that will benefit the EU's Single Market." |
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EU and Germany reach agreement on a fair & non-discriminatory road charging scheme EC proposes new tax rules to support e-commerce and online businesses in the EU |
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More news, opinions, documents, claims & counter-claims; |
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PC&PE: Only co-operation between Governments can solve Scotland's demographic problems IPPR Scotland: Scotland braced for ‘unprecedented’ cuts over the coming years Wales Audit Office: Welsh Government ‘well prepared to take on fiscal devolution responsibilities’ |
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