WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
In a period of General Election ‘mud-slinging’ about failure to ‘fund things’, one bright spot seems to be in tech |
What can the state of European tech report tell us about future for UK and European tech? Atomico’s recent report on the State of European tech provides a deep dive into the tech landscape across Europe in 2019. The report points to encouraging new investment & growth figures, however also key challenges for policy makers that need to be met to ensure the growth of Europe’s tech sector. In our analysis techUK look at these investments, and the challenges European policy makers face in order to ensure the continued success of European tech. 2019 has shown promising results for tech investment in Europe, as despite the economic slowdowns in the UK and EU. The UK remains the EU’s largest tech sector, across Europe’s 5 largest tech industries, fintech, enterprise software, health, energy and transport, the UK was the number one destination in terms of the share of capital invested in each of these industries in 2018-2019 (tying only with Sweden for capital investment in energy tech). In order to ensure that this strength is preserved in the event of EU exit, the UK Government and EU must approach any exit talks in a spirit of co-operation on tech, with a maximalist position when it comes to ensuring UK/EU tech co-operation can continue. Achieving this is in the interests of both the UK, which must seek to preserve its tech sector, a UK modern success story and key driver of economic growth, and the EU whose ambition to build up its tech sector to compete with those of Asia and the US will not be well served by erecting barriers between the EU27 and Europe’s largest tech sector. |
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techUK: The State of European tech – techUK reviews the 2019 report techUK launches 2019 Manifesto – 'Towards a Better Future' Businesses face being left behind by transition to new technologies New measures to back business, boost innovation and supercharge UK science New Innovate UK brand launched as part of unified UKRI identity Dstl Demonstrates Diversity of Research Programme to UKRI Search for press releases - using; ‘Innovate UK apply for funding’ which will bring up many more links Top 100 Most Influential BAME Leaders in UK Tech CBI/ACCENTURE: UK investment in Quantum technology expected to leap over the next five years Home-grown talent is an essential element for long-term success Learning right skills for the future job (well-paid) job market Worth applying for; SMEs please note AI GDP gain counter-balance for Brexit? We need it to succeed for a ‘Good’ Brexit The foundation of our future economy Ideas can lead to a ‘business’, but it is not easy Examples of Government support to help ensure a thriving Post-Brexit UK Cost effective digital justice |
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Editor’s choice of other Health, Social care & Homelessness related items of note: |
DHSC: PHE & NHS England urge eligible people to get free flu vaccine NHS Digital publishes detailed picture of mental health in England ScotGov: Models of Multidisciplinary Working – an International Review WAG awards £1.5m for new Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales Innovation Agency: Award for linking Aintree hospital with Community pharmacies |
Maintaining our technical & commercial position |
The UK Space Agency has announced it will invest £374m p.a. with the European Space Agency to deliver international space programmes over the next 5 years. The UK is one of the founding members of the European Space Agency (ESA), an inter-governmental organisation established in 1975 to promote cooperation in space research, technology & applications development. ESA is independent of the EU, bringing together countries across Europe & around the world. Membership enables the UK to collaborate with space agencies across the world on projects like the International Space Station and the ExoMars programme to send a UK-built rover to search for signs of life on Mars. The funding, confirmed at the 2019 ESA Ministerial Council in Seville, Spain, is in line with the Space Innovation and Growth Strategy agreed between government and the UK space sector in 2010, to increase investment in ESA. The UK is now spending an average of almost £95m per year to support telecommunications research and £80m per year to support Earth observation & climate science projects. This investment will secure UK involvement in international space missions and the development of new technologies, including:
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BEIS: UK invests in European Space Agency programmes The government is reaching for Space, if not yet the Stars |
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. Against this ambitious 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.
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The reality is that there are far too many of them |
Struggling towns can turn around their prospects by acting now to secure their future, according to a new study by the Carnegie UK Trust. The Trust’s Turnaround Towns UK report highlights how towns can overcome a lack of political power and declining economic fortunes by re-imagining their circumstances and adopting principles for change. With 2 in 5 people living in towns, which have become a major political battleground in the forthcoming General Election, the Carnegie UK Trust’s study uses 9 positive case studies to lift the lid on how communities, local councils & businesses can unite to effect change. The seven common principles are:
The 9 towns involved in the study covered every nation in the UK and feature a host of imaginative changes that have helped each location to flourish. These include hosting festivals; restoring castles as tourist attractions; commissioning films; reclaiming a high street; embracing industrial change; and even ‘guerrilla gardening’. The towns featured are West Kilbride and Dumfries in Scotland; Portrush in Northern Ireland; Cardigan in Wales; and Morecambe, Todmorden, Grimsby, Wigan and Totnes in England. The Carnegie UK Trust identified ‘Flourishing Towns’ as one of its thematic priorities for 2016-2020. The organisation has been supporting the development of vibrant, innovative & empowered town communities throughout this time. |
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Carnegie UK Trust: Towns offered pathway for change with new report Blueprint for 100 multi-£m Town Deals revealed LGA report: Attracting investment for local infrastructure - a guide for councils £95m to revive historic high streets £1bn Future High Streets Fund expanded to 50 more areas More than £3.5m for Maesteg Town Hall redevelopment High streets open doors to community projects New Task Force to help revitalise high streets and town centres Growing Connections project to revitalise Pontypridd Businesses to pay rates bills that better reflect current property values UK on verge of revolution to make parking easier and help British high streets High streets to benefit from £62m heritage boost High Street Perfect Day makes debut Government responds to Committee's 'High streets and town centres in 2030' report Communities bid to make their high streets fit for the future £9.75m to clean our high streets New scheme to support town centres £675m fund to transform high streets & town centres opens to communities LGA - Response to Future High Streets fund Getting more people walking and cycling could help save our high streets |
Editorial Commentary; Will the WASPI ‘bill’ prove to be Labour’s equivalent of the Conservative’s 2017 election manifesto ‘Dementia Tax’ |
While one hesitates to apply the term ‘fact checking’ to Labour’s statements, one can make some observations regarding this issue after researching one particular scenario based on an actual case study. A husband & wife are both of ‘state pensionable age’ and have been for several years, BUT given the Labour Party’s stated aim to address the moral issue of the WASPI women, I would like them to consider the moral case of men in a similar position to the husband regarding this issue Even in this age of equal pay/equality, the wife was entitled to receive her state pension when reaching the age of 60, while the husband had to ‘soldier on’ to the age of 65 before receiving his state pension. In the event, the wife delayed taking payment of her state pension for approximately 2 years while continuing to work, because it would have been taxed at 40%. During this time she (and other women in the same situation) was not required to pay any National Insurance and had her final state pension ‘boosted’ by 10% a year of ‘delayed claiming’. The husband meanwhile (and many other millions of other men) had to continue paying National Insurance up to the age of 65! To sum up, the wife has received over £16k more state pension than the husband, while paying 5 years less National Insurance towards that pension! Added to this observation is the fact that life expectancy for females is 81.2 years; for males, it's 76.4 years, so the wife’s pension could cost the state around £35k more than the husband’s in total, on top of the £16k! Statistically, under the old system, women drew the State pension for an average of 21.2 years, while men only drew it for 11.4 years – Is that fair?. The husband actually wrote to the Equality and Human Rights Commission and pointed out the inequality of this situation, but was informed that the government’s legislation to eventually equalise state retirement age (which the WASPI women deny ever knowing about), obviated the need for them to take any action to address this inequality. In a final touch of irony, his state pension is currently around £129 per week (while his wife’s was enhanced to around £150), but he also missed out by just 1 year on the move to the higher state pension of £168.50 in 2016. Looking at the historical ‘facts’ of this case study, one might assume that Labour Party should ‘shake its money forest’ a bit harder and ensure that men & women (having been entitled to equal pay for decades), are also entitled to pay NI for the same number of years and receive their state pensions at the same age! Men Against State Pension Inequality (MASPI) look forward receiving Labour’s acknowledgement of this moral debt in the spirit of male/female equality! Un-official Labour Party (one assumes) slogan; Let all pensioners unite and go SKI-ing (Spend the Kids Inheritance). |
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Still a ‘hot topic’, with widely spread views: |
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How to prepare if the UK leaves the EU with no deal OE: What would a ‘No Deal’ after the transition period look like? OE: What do the parties’ election manifestos say about Brexit? OE Weekly Briefing: Spotlight on trade deals as manifestos published B4B: News from the Front: The Big Push is On B4B: Don’t be fooled: a ‘bare bones’ free trade deal is exactly what the UK wants |
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