WIREDGOV

The GeoPlace conference took place on 9th May 2019, in the City of London.  

This annual event is a forum that brings together key partners from central government, local agencies, emergency services and the councils that are ultimately responsible for creating & maintaining our nation's definitive address and street data. 

New technologies are coming together and providing opportunities for our local communities to grow and flourish.  To sustain this development of transport, we must understand what society needs, where & why, and the demand for high-quality street & addressing data is delivered by GeoPlace, through its network and operations.   

Excellent local street data supports the maintenance & improvement of our nation's road network and general transport infrastructure.  It also enables us to deliver on tomorrow's challenges, such as the roll-out of electric and autonomous vehicles – and the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge part of the Government's wider Industrial Strategy. 

The Minister also introduced a new service ‘findmystreet.co.uk' to help people understand more about the road network in England & Wales: where a street is, what its official name is in the National Street Gazetteer (NSG), and who is responsible for its maintenance.  Funded by the Local Government Association and built by GeoPlace, Findmystreet enables anyone to access the nation's official National Street Gazetteer free of charge to view data and use it to report missing Public Rights of Way to relevant highways authorities.

The theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is Body Image – how we think and feel about our bodies – and this can lead us to thrive or hide in the workplace.

While it may feel internal, it has always played out in how we want to ‘appear’ in the workplace, and it is intensifying with social media and the pressure to look a certain way.  Why is image so important, and how can we bring our whole selves to work and be proud of who we are?

For the Civil Service, and the 430,000 people who work here, our identity, what we stand for and the difference we make, gives us meaning and purpose.  Being ourselves at work creates diverse & inclusive cultures, uniting teams and empowering individuals.  Having this acceptance & trust can improve our creativity, decision-making & ability to perform and progress in our careers.

Body image can cause low self-esteem, vulnerability and isolation. These emotions aren’t left at home, they come to work too.  It may be difficult to know how to help, but sufferers are the experts in their conditions and what support they need. Sometimes the best way of helping is to listen, understand and be comfortable talking about mental health.

Whether it is body image issues, anxiety or any other mental health condition, help is available.  It is inclusive support, not intrusive support.  Share what you need to share to get better and flourish. Read the full Blog for some ideas to help you on your journey.

Last week Food Surplus & Waste Champion Ben Elliot rallied major players to ‘Step up to the Plate’ and called for an end to the 'moral and economic scandal' of food waste.

Major players from the worlds of food retail & hospitality (including Nestlé, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, & Waitrose), along with social media influencers & chefs, are joining forces to pledge ground-breaking action to drive down food waste, a driver of climate change.  The pledge includes a goal to halve food waste by 2030 - We squander 10m tonnes of food & drink every year.

Businesses throw away food worth an estimated £5bn and £15bn is wasted from our homes (on average around £500 a year), the emissions this creates is the equivalent of every third car on the road.  We simply must put an end to this.  The government is committed to supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 2 to end hunger by 2030. 

Wasting food squanders the energy & resources used in producing, transporting & packaging, and when sent to landfill it rots and produces methane, contributing to our greenhouse gas emissions.  Earlier this year the government launched a £15m scheme to tackle food waste, building on its landmark Resources & Waste Strategy which sets out how the government will introduce annual reporting of food surplus & waste by food businesses.

The R&W Strategy also sets out how the government will ensure weekly collections of food waste, which is often smelly and unpleasant, for every household – restoring weekly collections in some local authorities, subject to consultation.  The food waste symposium ran alongside the V&A’s FOOD: Bigger than the Plate exhibition, which explores similar themes.