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WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
| We need it to succeed for a ‘Good’ Brexit |
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Business Secretary Greg Clark has launched the government’s Industrial Strategy. It sets out a long-term vision for how Britain can build on its economic strengths, address its productivity performance, embrace technological change & boost the earning power of people across the UK. With the aim of making the UK the world’s most innovative nation by 2030, the government has committed to investing a further £725m over the next 3 years in the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) to respond to some of the greatest global challenges & the opportunities faced by the UK. This will include £170m to transform our construction sector and help create affordable places to live & work that are safer, healthier & use less energy, and up to £210m to improve early diagnosis of illnesses and develop precision medicine for patients across the UK. The government has previously committed £1bn to the first wave of ISCF projects, including investing £246m in next generation battery technology and £86m in robotics hubs across the UK. Recently the PM announced an ambition to increase the level of investment in R&D, rising from 1.7% to 2.4% of GDP by 2027. The White Paper also confirms government will be pressing ahead with a series of Sector Deals, with construction, life sciences, automotive & AI the first to benefit from these new strategic & long-term partnerships with government, backed by private sector co-investment. |
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BEIS: Modern Industrial Strategy to boost business support for Scotland BEIS: New Industrial Strategy to boost NI earning power & innovation OSSW: Industrial Strategy set to get Wales’ economy firing on all cylinders OSSW: Wales to get boost from UK Government's Modern Industrial Strategy BEIS: Government & industry cement deal to give UK construction the edge IPPR: Firms providing ‘good jobs’ should get tax cut LGA responds to Industrial Strategy White Paper STFC: Landmark agreement between research & industry to harness high performance computing WWF comments on the Industrial Strategy DCMS: Better Broadband Scheme extended for another year techUK: A perfect marriage: Industrial Strategy wedded to AI & tech FCO: International Trade Secretary announces new roles to boost trade around the globe NIC: Future infrastructure pioneers sought to shape UK’s future DCMS: Government launches review into future telecoms infrastructure investment Innovate UK: Future manufacturing & infrastructure systems: apply for funds CBI: Industrial Strategy must be the beginning of a strategic race, not a tactical sprint |
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| Living longer is something we ‘dream’ of, but the reality may not be what we anticipated |
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Small changes to homes can improve quality of life and relieve pressure on NHS & social care. Also; the CMA has published its final findings following an extensive review of whether the residential care homes sector is working well for older people & their families. |
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LGA responds to Ageing Better report on home adaptions LGA responds to Which? Care home market investigation CMA: Urgent action needed across the UK care home market NO: Ombudsman responds to CMA care home report More difficult than trying to find ‘Good’ local school This problem is not going to be solved by taxing a few people a lot more Care at home is not only preferred, its more cost effective as well Can your design skills help others to help themselves? 'Residential revolution' needed for England's ageing population, says LGA |
| 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. |
| Evidently the NHS heard WiredGov’s plea! |
| Is it time for the NHS to stop writing prescriptions for ‘over the counter’ medicines such as aspirin? |
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NHS England: Prescription curbs to free up hundreds of millions of pounds for frontline care Need to curb patients expectations for ‘magic’ pills Pleas in for Budget Day! (see Editorial commentary) |
| We are still not there yet |
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NHS Scotland staff who are not satisfied with internal investigations will soon be able to enlist the help of an Independent National Whistleblowing Officer (INWO). Legislation will be introduced to Parliament in 2018 to bring the INWO role under the auspices of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. This would provide statutory powers to help whistleblowers. The INWO will also examine health boards’ culture and approach to whistleblowing – particularly where a whistleblower claims to have been unfairly treated as a result of raising a concern. |
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ScotGov: Freedom to speak up for NHS Scotland staff Not all problems / mistakes occur in hospitals This is not a P/T post, given all that has gone wrong before! Should have been done years ago Cover-ups in ‘bad practice’ lead to repeated mistakes in NHS treatments |
| It might help take some of the emotional pain away! |
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The government has announced a new maternity strategy to reduce the number of stillbirths as part of plans to make the NHS the safest place in the world to give birth. Families who suffer stillbirth or life-changing injuries to their babies will be offered an independent investigation to find out what went wrong & why. Full-term stillbirths will be investigated by coroners. Under the plans, hundreds of stillbirth, early neonatal death and severe brain injury cases each year will be referred to the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch, the new NHS safety investigator led by safety experts. |
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DH: New maternity strategy to reduce the number of stillbirths The sad loss of babies / children still happens for some on a daily basis Don’t hold your breath waiting for anyone to be held responsible and being ‘Made to Pay’? |
| New meaning to ‘Xmas Giving’ |
| Changes to the rules on blood donation in England came into force on 28 November 2017. The new rules will allow more people to donate blood, without affecting the safety of the blood supply. |
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| One doesn’t need to be an Olympic athlete (although some may be!) |
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Minority groups, women, people aged 50+ and those with disabilities are all vastly underrepresented in the IT profession. This is according to a new report on diversity published by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. |
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| They have enough emotional stress without dealing with protesters |
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The Home Secretary has ordered an in-depth assessment of protests outside abortion clinics following concerns about the tactics of some protesters. Home Office: Review into harassment & intimidation near abortion clinics |
| Improper use could potentially kill hundreds near airports |
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Police are set to be given powers to prevent the unsafe or criminal use of drones as part of a new package of legislation. The measures are intended to allow drone users to continue flying safely & legally, helping to place the UK at the forefront of the fast-growing drone industry. This will also pave the way for the devices to be harnessed for a range of uses by businesses and public services. |
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DfT: New powers for police to address illegal and unsafe use of drones |
| Have a healthy Xmas |
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The NHS has appealed to parents to take up the free flu vaccination for children to curb infection over Xmas when family get-togethers spread the infection, putting grandparents & other relatives at risk. Health officials say that without the flu vaccination children are more likely to contract the flu at nursery or school and then spread the virus at a rapid rate, posing a particular risk to the elderly & other people at higher risk. |
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| Not what one wants for Xmas |
| Public Health England (PHE) issues advice for the public to ensure they have had the MMR vaccine after outbreaks of measles are confirmed in 3 areas of England. |
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DH: Measles outbreaks confirmed in Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham NICE to tackle falling child vaccination rates Measles vaccination advice for young adults Think measles: patient leaflet for young people PHE urges parents to vaccinate against measles, mumps and rubella MMR vaccination call following recent measles cases Rubella susceptibility screening in pregnancy to end in England |
| They are certainly needed |
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Applications opened recently for NHS digital leaders of the future to train at the NHS Digital Academy. NHS England: Applications now open for NHS Digital Academy |
| Picture the scene |
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The National Archives has created new classroom resources of photographs for descriptive & creative writing prompts. They are designed for the teaching of GCSE English Language but can be of use for other age groups. National Archives: New classroom resources for GCSE English Language: People & Places |
| About time! |
| The CMA has announced that it will take enforcement action against secondary ticketing websites suspected of breaking consumer protection law. |
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CMA to take enforcement action on secondary ticketing sites CMA launches enforcement investigation into online secondary ticketing |
| Fancy building a bridge? |
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Future infrastructure pioneers sought to shape UK’s future. Britain’s up-and-coming engineers, architects, designers & planners will get the chance to have their say over meeting the country’s future infrastructure needs, under a new initiative launched by Lord Adonis. |
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National Infrastructure Commission: Future infrastructure pioneers sought to shape UK’s future |
| Actually, just a return to normality! |
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The NIESR’s Associate Research Director Dr Heather Rolfe has commented on the latest ONS Long Term Migration Estimates. Dr Heather Rolfe said: “The latest immigration statistics ……, show a fall in net migration to 230,000 in the year ending 2017. This continues a downward trend since June 2016……. Fewer EU migrants are coming to the UK to look for work, although the number coming with a job offer has remained broadly similar”. According to Think Tank Open Europe’s latest report: “The overall figure for net migration to the UK over the past year remains in line with mid-2014 levels. …… Recent labour market data also shows a record 2.38m EU nationals working in the UK, up 112,000 on a year earlier”. |
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NIESR reacts to the latest ONS Long Term Migration Estimates Open Europe: Does the record fall in net migration point to a sustained reduction? |
| Xmas reading for Mr Corbyn et al, as they keep praising Venezuela’s government! |
| Academic study of Soviet economy & society details how poorly Soviets ate and the gruelling difficulty of everyday life in the postwar USSR. |
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Adam Smith Inst: 100 Years on from revolution - new book reveals poverty of Soviet diet Venezuela crisis: Retirements ruined and families pulled apart - BBC ... Venezuela crisis: All the latest updates | News | Al Jazeera |
| TfL services over Xmas |
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From Saturday 23/12 2017 to Monday 01/01/2018 there will be service changes & essential improvement work on the transport & road network as people make their way home on New Year's Eve. Transport for London (TfL) is encouraging both Londoners and visitors to the Capital to make the most of the city over the Christmas & New Year period by planning their journeys in advance. The majority of TfL services will continue to run, with some service changes necessary to allow essential improvement work to be carried out. Festive travel information & advice is available on TfL's website (tfl.gov.uk/Christmas-travel) and contains daily travel information about all forms of public transport, as well as Victoria Coach Station and the Congestion Charge. |
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TfL: Plan ahead to make the most of the Capital over Christmas & New Year |
| Blog post; Anne Longfield, 28/11/17 |
| In today’s increasingly digital world, it’s more important than ever that parents & carers feel equipped to help children develop the resilience, information & power they need to thrive online. |
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They should hide their ‘Faces’ in shame Tackling the ‘Dark Side’ of social media in schools They know ‘How to’, but many lack judgement/knowledge of the risk & dangers |
| It always seems to come around again so quickly |
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HMRC reminds Self-Assessment customers to do their return ahead of the 31 January 2018 deadline. HMRC: Do your Self-Assessment online, don’t miss the deadline |
| They should have been free from the beginning! |
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All DWP Universal Credit phone lines are now free and nobody will be charged when they need to call to get help with their Universal Credit claim. DWP: Free helplines for Universal Credit claimants |
| No thanks to any action by Uber! |
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An update to the official statement from the National Cyber Security Centre on the Uber data breach. |
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