WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

We are leaving the EU’s Single Market, which makes the direction of Brexit negotiations clearer!
PM Theresa May has set out the 12 negotiating priorities for Brexit as part of the Plan for Britain after leaving the EU.
Researched Links:

10DS:  The government's negotiating objectives for exiting the EU: PM speech

10DS:  I want an exit that will work for all of us: article by Theresa May

MoJ:  Legal services at forefront of Global Britain

HMT:  Davos 2017 - Chancellor’s speech at the CBI’s British business Leaders Lunch

PC&PE:  Government urged to give Parliament vote on Brexit deal

PC&PE:  Discussion on EU-UK trade post-Brexit report

ScotGov:  JMC meeting on Brexit

techUK responds to speech from PM Theresa May

techUK Announces Advisory Panel to Ensure Brexit is a Success for Tech

NIESR Researchers react to Theresa May’s Brexit speech

CIPD responds to PM's Brexit speech

WWF-UK comments on the PM's speech on leaving the EU

 

London Innovation Series: Week of January 23rd & Week of March 6th, 2017

London Innovation Series is a two week initiative to support UK Government around AWS UK Launch.

  •  Build your path from Architecting to Innovating in your organization – how to get there
  •  Get ready for Serverless Future
  •  Struggling to keep up with all service updates? - ASK an Architect there and then
  •  Pick your session for next week and  “Stay and Work” at the Urban Innovation Centre

Click here to register for the event and discover more.

 
Brexit planning will not stop implementation of EU’s GDPR

There’s nothing like a new year to focus the mind on self-improvement.  And from a data protection perspective, there’s something about the arrival of 2017 that makes the implementation of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018 seem so much closer.  The ICO have published an update setting out what guidance organisations can expect.  It’s essential reading, as it will help you plan what areas to address across the next 12 months.

Just before Christmas the Article 29 Working Party also published guidelines on:

* the role of the Data Protection Officer

* the new right of data portability and

* how to identify an organisation’s main establishment and lead supervisory authority

They are open to comment until the end of January 2017.  They have added links to the guidelines into the Overview and they are considering what, if any, key messages they need to draw out & explain in more detail.
Researched Links:

ICO:  GDPR guidance in 2017

Information Commissioner talks GDPR and accountability in latest speech

GDPR & accountability

Simplifying GDPR Compliance: How to mitigate risk & derive value as you take on the new regulation

Blog posted by Elizabeth Denham, Information Commissioner (31/10/16)

How to Prepare for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Brexit’s Article 50 ‘negotiating period’ will probably not end until at least 4+months of EU GDPR regulation

A Guide to GDPR Grade Security for Government

 
Protecting the vulnerable

A Bognor Regis firm broke the law because it called people registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS).   IT Protect Ltd has been fined £40,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for the offence.   It is the first fine for nuisance calls issued by the ICO since it took over management of the TPS.

The law around electronic marketing says that calls should not be made to anyone who has registered with the TPS unless they have told the caller that they wish to receive such calls from them.  Companies failing to screen against the TPS, who then call people without consent, can expect enforcement action by the ICO.

Nuisance calls can be reported via the online tool (Telesales Calls) on the ICO website, which also details the rules organisations must follow when carrying out direct marketing.  The ICO took over responsibility for overseeing the TPS from Ofcom in December 2016. The TPS is a FREE service for mobile & landline phone users that allows them to opt out of receiving cold calls.
Researched Links:

ICO fines Bognor Regis firm which made nuisance calls to the elderly

New measures will hopefully ‘knock them out cold’

If I had £1 for every one of these calls!!!!!!

 
Hopefully this will help resolve the situation

Following the announcement by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland that an election to the Northern Ireland Assembly will be held on Thursday 2 March 2017, Ann Watt, Head of the Electoral Commission in Northern Ireland said:

 “To vote in this election you must be registered to vote. The deadline for registering to vote is Tuesday 14 February (2017). You can check if you are registered by calling the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland on 0800 4320 712 or emailing info@eoni.org.uk. If you can’t make it to the polling station on 2 March then you have until Friday 10 February to apply for a postal or proxy vote.  For more information on registering to vote or how to vote at the election visit:  www.aboutmyvote.co.uk.”
Researched Links:

Electoral Commission statement on Northern Ireland Assembly election announcement

 
SME Supplier Locator update...

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.

Click here to find out more and view this week’s new arrivals to the SME Supplier Locator service. 

 
Helping ensure continuing Government e-efficiency

The Government Digital Service (GDS) has just launched the new Service Toolkit.  It’s a single page that brings together all the things that are available to help teams building government services.

GDS recently published the latest iteration of the Service Manual to give teams guidance on how to build great services.  Now they have launched the Service Toolkit to give them quick access to the resources they need.

The Service Toolkit currently features links to:

  • standards: the Digital Service Standard, the Technology Code of Practice and the Service Manual
  • design & style resources: design principles, design patterns, reusable frontend code, the GOV.UK Prototype Kit and the style guide
  • components to design & build services: GOV.UK Notify, GOV.UK Pay, GOV.UK Verify, GOV.UK Platform as a Service and Registers – open data sets that a service can consume to perform a task
  • service data: the Performance Platform
  • buying resource: the Digital Marketplace
Researched Links:

GDS:  Service Toolkit: everything you need to build a service in one place

 
Big muscles not required!

Teenage girls from across the UK are being invited to pit their tech skills against one another in a GCHQ competition to find the best & brightest candidates to protect the nation from future cyber attacks.

The CyberFirst Girls Competition, set up by GCHQ’s new National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), is an important step to knock down barriers preventing women from joining the fight against online crime.  Only 10% of the global cyber workforce are female, meaning millions of British women may be missing out on a career they could excel in.

Girls aged 13-15 can enter the competition in teams of 4, plus a teacher who will act as a guardian & mentor.  The pupils will be put through a series of challenges to test their cyber security skills against young women from all over the UK, with the top 10 teams progressing to a national final in London in March 2017.

The victorious contestants will take home individual prizes and their school will receive IT equipment to the value of £1,000.  There will be hints & tips available to help the students through the online phase and a teacher’s guide to help make the most of the competition.

Team Guardians can pre-register their interest from 18 January 2017 where downloads to a teacher’s pack, T&Cs and Q&As can be found at www.ncsc.gov.uk/events/cyberfirst-girls-competition.  Teams will then be invited to the competition website for full registration from 13 February 2017.
Researched Links:

National Cyber Security Centre:  National challenge will develop schoolgirls’ cyber security skills

Men & women are equal on ‘brainpower’ so deserve equal opportunities

Women who take the lead

Paid to train, no student debt, good employment prospects for both women & men and vital for future UK economic success

Could you help save/protect the Cyber World (specifically the UK’s bit of it)?

Cyber security skills could lead to securing employment

Why?

And an ’Appy’ time will be had by all

 
Could you help charities to improve their fundraising?

DCMS seeks provider(s) to deliver subsidised fundraising training to help small, local charities and community groups fundraise more effectively.

On Local Charities Day on 16 December 2016, DCMS announced it would fund a further 3 years of fundraising training. This open competition is to select a provider(s) to deliver the first 2 years of training, worth up to £100,000p.a.  The programme will subsidise the cost of training, helping organisations to participate who may not normally have the resources to attend.

Applicants must have the fundraising expertise & capacity to provide training between March 2017 - March 2019.  DCMS are inviting applications for grants between £50,000 & £200,000.  Applicants have until noon on 15 February 2017 to submit their completed applications.  DCMS hope to announce the successful applicant(s) in March 2017.
Researched Links:
DCMS:  Launch of open competition to deliver fundraising training for small, local charities
 
A healthy out-door life?

Working in the sun could lead to 1 death & around 5 new cases of melanoma skin cancer a week, according to research published in the British Journal of Cancer.

Construction workers had the highest number of deaths (44% of deaths), followed by agriculture workers (23% of deaths).  Public administration & defence workers - including the police and the armed forces - accounted for 10% of deaths.
Researched Links:

CRUK:  Sun exposure at work could lead to one skin cancer death a week

CRUK:  Melanoma skin cancer

Skin cancer (melanoma) - NHS Choices

 
The ‘Holy Grail’ of ‘greening’ fossil fuels has yet to be found
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has not achieved value for money for its £100m spend on the second competition for government financial support for carbon capture storage, according to the National Audit Office.

NAO:  Carbon Capture & Storage: the second competition for government support

A less ‘visual’ alternative for greener energy?

 

 More contributions following EU Referendum

Still a ‘hot topic’, with widely spread views, for those who put fingers to keyboard in order to ‘share their views’:

Researched Links:

10DS:  The government's negotiating objectives for exiting the EU: PM speech

10DS:  I want an exit that will work for all of us: article by Theresa May

HMT:  Economic Secretary's speech at the Asian Financial Forum

HMT:  Davos 2017 - Chancellor’s speech at the CBI’s British business Leaders Lunch

MoJ:  Legal services at forefront of Global Britain

ScotGov:  Brexit risk to research

ScotGov:  Climate change action

ScotGov:  Scottish Parliament welcomes Scottish Government paper

ScotGov:  JMC meeting on Brexit

WAG:  Carl Sargeant announces extension to PaCE programme

PC&PE:  Government urged to give Parliament vote on Brexit deal

IfG statement in response to Exiting the EU Committee report

PC&PE:  Discussion on EU-UK trade post-Brexit report

TUC: Working people will judge May’s Brexit strategy on whether it protects jobs and rights at work

FDA:  Invest in the civil service to deliver successful Brexit & domestic reform

Brexit: RUSI Briefing Calls for a New ‘Special Relationship’ with the EU on Foreign and Security Policy

IPPR:  Government support for Northern Brexit Negotiating Committee

techUK responds to speech from Prime Minister Theresa May

techUK Announces Advisory Panel to Ensure Brexit is a Success for Tech

NIESR Researchers react to Theresa May’s Brexit speech

CIPD responds to Prime Minister's Brexit speech

EU News:  European Social Rights - workers’ protection needs to be extended to new jobs

EU News:  UK and Gibraltar are a single Member State for the purposes of the freedom to provide services

 
Please choose from the links below to view individual sections of interest:

People in all societies have disputes, wrote Louise Tickle last week. In advanced legal systems the dominant approach to resolving them has been to instruct lawyers and appear before courts. But with the internet, advanced hardware and cutting-edge software coming on-stream, the days of fetching up in front of a judge with bulging case-files are beginning to change. Could courtrooms soon be a thing of the past? Tickle looks at the countries leading the way in digitising the judiciary.
Meanwhile, the latest in our Public Servant: My Letter to the Public series – "Council job cuts have finally caught up with me – but I'm relieved" – resonated strongly with many of our members. The series aims to give a voice to the staff behind the public services that are hit by mounting cuts and rising demand. If you would like to contribute please get in touch at kirstie.brewer@theguardian.com

Also on the network

My beautiful commute: share pictures of your journeys to work

My beautiful commute: share pictures of your journeys to work
Whether it’s the sun rising behind a railway bridge or a frosty street scene, you can share your commuting pictures with us

Council job cuts have finally caught up with me – but I'm relieved

Council job cuts have finally caught up with me – but I'm relieved
After years of avoiding the axe, redundancy now seems like a release. I won’t miss the insomnia and anxiety caused by the uncertainty of working for a council

The 2017 Public Leaders editorial advisory board

The 2017 Public Leaders editorial advisory board
Leaders from the public, private and voluntary sectors, with deep expertise across all public services, comprise our editorial board in 2017

News in brief
• Councils get £48m to expand homelessness provision
• Existing Extended Ministerial Offices to be "dismantled", Cabinet Office confirms
• Westminster council could send homeless families to Coventry
• Treasury and HMRC urged to improve joint working in tax policy shake-up