WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
3 of the key data security challenges for digitising all patient records and making the NHS paperless by 2020 are:
Click here for this latest case study which details how a major US hospital regained control of its network in the face of 10,000 malicious log-on attempts each day. |
Carefully calculate the project budget and then triple it for an under-estimation! |
Public Accounts Committee report says that ‘the Government must learn from serious failings in the design, planning and cost-estimating of the Great Western route modernisation programme’. In the report, the Committee warns the significant flaws identified in the project raise concerns about the ability of the DfT and Network Rail to manage similar projects in future (HS2?????). These include the planned electrification schemes on Midland Main Line and TransPennine routes. The Committee makes a series of recommendations to Government intended to safeguard taxpayers’ money and support the timely delivery of passenger benefits on future rail schemes. Editor’s note: One should also remember the example of the NHS National Programme for IT, which was originally budgeted at £2.3bn before being ‘killed off’ after spending £12.3bn. |
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PC&PE: Failings on Great Western upgrade raise concerns over future rail projects Forget HS2; HS3 would be better value and it would help restore the North/South balance Modernising the Great Western railway Minister submits case for electrification of the North Wales main line Timing is everything when it comes to successful projects Project management is not an ‘optional extra’ for successful delivery AXELOS: The universal value of project & programme management skills AXELOS: How agile grows up into a programme method Audit Scotland Failed i6 project leaves urgent need to deliver police IT requirements Infrastructure and Projects Authority NAO: Assurance for major projects Timing is everything when it comes to successful projects (hover mouse over text in first & fifth paras. For links) |
Convenient but not necessarily appropriate/safe care |
CQC inspections of some companies providing online primary care have found significant concerns about patient safety. Well-run services can offer a convenient & effective form of treatment, but inspectors found services that were putting patients at risk of harm by selling medicines without doing enough to check they were appropriate. They have published reports from two urgent inspections recently- in both cases the providers have stopped providing services in England. Following a review of all online services registered with us they have brought forward their inspection programme and have prioritised inspections of services they think may present a significant risk to patients. |
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ICO Blog about ‘GDPR’ posted by Jo Pedder, Interim Head of Policy & Engagement |
Back in January, I wrote about our plans for GDPR guidance in 2017 and our commitment to help organisations improve their practices and prepare for the GDPR. I’m pleased to announce that our first piece of detailed topic-specific GDPR guidance has been published for public consultation. This new guidance is about consent in the GDPR and we are interested to gain your feedback on it through a short consultation which is running from now until 31 March 2017. The basic concept of consent, and its main role as one lawful basis (or condition) for processing, is not new. However the GDPR does set a high standard for consent. It builds on the Data Protection Act (DPA) standard of consent in a number of areas, and it contains significantly more detail on both the standard & processes for consent. |
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ICO guidance for consent in the GDPR |
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. |
Two important news items courtesy of techUK |
The British Retail Consortium has published a ‘cyber security toolkit’ that will provide retail businesses of all sizes with a practical, step-by-step guide to prevent & manage cyber security threats and protect the customers they serve. Secondly; To celebrate International Women’s Day, techUK has launched a brand new hub for returners and for tech companies to learn more about starting their own returners. Estimates suggest almost 2m women in the UK are currently economically inactive due to caring commitments, and 76% of professional women on career breaks want to return to work. That’s why techUK, in partnership with everywoman, launched the Back to Work Programme in 2016. Following the successful programme pilot, techUK identified a gap in the market for a central hub of information for tech returners. This was for both individuals looking to return to the tech sector and for tech companies to find out more about running their own returner programmes. To address this issue, techUK teamed up with members & partners to create a centralised Returners Hub for the tech sector. Launching on International Women’s Day, this hub features 4 sections:
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techUK: British Retail Consortium launches cyber security toolkit |
Speak up to protect others |
Last week marked the launch of the CQC’s 'Worked up? Speak up' campaign about care for older people. They want more people aged 60 & over, and their friends & families, to share their experiences of health & social care with them. By telling them about your experiences, you could stop poor care happening to someone else. |
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CQC: Care for older people campaign launches What is the state of ‘God’s waiting rooms’? No excuse for not maintaining their dignity Despite the ‘cheers’, there are real fears |
They should hide their ‘Faces’ in shame |
Responding to a BBC investigation into Facebook's failure to remove inappropriate images of children, Children's Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield said: “It is totally unacceptable that Facebook does not remove sexualised imagery of children immediately. They, like other social media companies and internet providers, have a duty to protect children from harm and must make sure that they do so”. |
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Anne Longfield responds to reports about decriminalising viewing of indecent images of children Local MP joins fight against child sexual abuse Man with 4,265 indecent images of children told officers “you stop being a child at 12” Keep children safe online this Christmas - Top tips New blocking powers to protect children online Thank God the technology didn’t exist when my own children were vulnerable! (Editor) |
A unique opportunity |
Female healthcare scientists are invited to apply for NHS England’s prestigious fellowship scheme, aimed at providing career support for women working in this field. Led by NHS England’s Chief Scientific Officer, the Woman in Science and Engineering Fellowship scheme aims to support 4 healthcare scientists over 12 months through a career development programme that includes mentoring alongside communication and leadership skills training. In addition, fellows will attend both the WISE and Chief Scientific Officer conferences. The selection process will include an application form and an interview. The closing date for applications is 19 May 2017. |
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NHS England calls for applications from female healthcare scientists to apply for fellowship scheme |
Editorial Commentary: Who would take the blame if UK citizens not given same treatment |
‘The Government should now make a unilateral decision to safeguard the rights of EU nationals living in the UK’, the cross-party Exiting the European Union Committee has unanimously agreed in its report. The MPs are also calling on the Government to seek to ensure that UK nationals already resident in other EU countries – and EU citizens already living here – do not lose their rights to healthcare & pensions after Brexit. Hilary Benn MP, Exiting the EU Committee Chair, said: …. “Although the Government has said it wants EU citizens to be able to remain, this has not offered sufficient reassurance that the rights and status that they have enjoyed will be guaranteed. It should now do so." (No mention of failure of EU to offer reassurance to UK citizens one notes!). Just supposing the government is ‘forced’ to agree an amendment unilaterally agreeing to give EU citizens those rights. Who would get the blame if the 27 other EU countries eventually only offered say a ‘right of residence’, without any agreement on pensions health benefits, etc. to UK citizens living abroad, unless we gave them an overly generous ‘divorce settlement’ and/or a preferential agreement on future migration without any other ‘quid pro quo? After all it won’t be the fault of the UK government if their negotiating ‘hand’ is ‘fatally weakened’ by parliamentary votes, because they have already warned about the danger of such votes! As the Bishop of St Albans, Dr Alan Smith, who voted against the amendment (on the Rights of EU citizens in the UK) put it (quoted in the Church times): He did not believe that the Lords could “handcuff the negotiating hand of the Prime Minister when she triggers Article 50, by predetermining the outcome of one area of the negotiation before we start”. Will LibDem Peers resign in those circumstances (they cannot be un-elected) to show their remorse or is it their ‘game plan’ (and that of other ‘Remoaners’) to just say ‘the solution is for us not to leave the EU’ and thus frustrate the majority democratic ‘will’ of UK voters? The HoL could be seen at their best during the 8 March debate on the Higher Education & Research Bill debate, which sought to improve the proposed legislation. However, the recent ‘Article 50 Brexit Bill’, saw many of them ‘crossing the line’ from ‘proposing amendments to improve’ to ‘amending to decide policy’, which had already been approved by a large majority of elected MPs to implement the ‘will of the people’. |
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PC&PE: Government must act now to safeguard rights of EU citizens in UK Hypocrisy of EU as it blames UK for its own ‘intransigence to negotiate’ PC&PE: UK payments to EU budget could end but political consequences would be profound PC&PE: Government should pursue preferential agreement with EU on future migration PC&PE: 'Great Repeal Bill' should not be used to avoid parliamentary scrutiny Call Chancellor Merkel's bluff, says Archbishop of York - Church Times |
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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: Maintaining our close ties with Slovakia DExEU: Lord Bridges addresses Midlands business leaders PC&PE: Government response to Brexit: the options for trade report PC&PE: Government should pursue preferential agreement with EU on future migration PC&PE: UK payments to EU budget could end but political consequences would be profound PC&PE: Government must act now to safeguard rights of EU citizens in UK PC&PE: 'Great Repeal Bill' should not be used to avoid parliamentary scrutiny PC&PE: Government still unclear on trade after Brexit TUC: MPs’ report should warn PM against complacency over ‘no deal’ with the EU PC&PE: Access to European broadcasting market post-Brexit questioned DIT: Commonwealth trade ministers meeting - towards a free trading future |
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More news, opinions, documents, claims & counter-claims; |
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IPPR Scotland: new analysis reveals UK Budget leaves £1bn of cuts still to come |
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