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Landmark environmental case against the Environment Agency: Court confirms enforceable European laws post-Brexit

Reporter: Stuart Littleford

Law firm Freeths LLP yesterday won a landmark environmental case in Harris vs Environment Agency. The High Court has ruled that key European nature conservation laws remain enforceable against the Environment Agency (and by implication other public bodies), despite the UK having left the European Union.

The Court agreed with Freeths’ clients,

Continue reading Landmark environmental case against the Environment Agency: Court confirms enforceable European laws post-Brexit

UK investors brace for recession before the end of the year, despite leadership bid outcome

A new survey of 885 UK-based retail investors has revealed how investors are managing their portfolios in light of high inflation, low growth, subsequent recession risks and the Conservative leadership contest. It found:

The majority (62%) of investors believe the UK will enter a recession before the end of the year, irrespective of the outcome

Continue reading UK investors brace for recession before the end of the year, despite leadership bid outcome

New government hub housing roles moved from London opens in Birmingham

New hub houses 20 government departments, with space to accommodate 1700 staff Hub will house some of the 2100 Civil Service roles moving from London to the West Midlands by 2025, with 880 already relocated Consolidation of eight sites into one is expected to save £2 million per year

A new government hub which

Continue reading New government hub housing roles moved from London opens in Birmingham

The Disclosure and Barring Service recognised for a second time as the highest-rated public service organisation for customer satisfaction

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has been ranked as the highest-rated public service organisation in the UK for customer satisfaction in the July 2022 UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI). The organisation also achieved this ranking in the January 2022 UKCSI.

The index is published twice a year by the Institute of Customer Service and

Continue reading The Disclosure and Barring Service recognised for a second time as the highest-rated public service organisation for customer satisfaction

Employers are underestimating personal safety fears of nearly 7 million workers

Nearly 7 million workers worry about their safety each week 57% of employers underestimate the level of concern felt by their staff 57% of employees are concerned about facing aggression from the public 22% of former lone workers and front-line staff said safety concerns were among the reasons they chose to leave their job

Continue reading Employers are underestimating personal safety fears of nearly 7 million workers

Bright Initiative: Global data for good Initiative expands support for the UK’s National Data Strategy with new partnerships

Bright Initiative has joined the UK Government-backed Data Skills Taskforce to help tackle the UK’s data skills challenges Initiative also set to begin work with members of the UK Parliament on an inquiry investigating issues around governance and ethics in data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) New collaborations complement ongoing support for UK Government officials

Continue reading Bright Initiative: Global data for good Initiative expands support for the UK’s National Data Strategy with new partnerships

How to comply with new sanctions prompted by the conflict in Ukraine By Barley Laing, the UK Managing Director at Melissa

Barley Laing – UK Managing Director at Melissa

The invasion of Ukraine has resulted in a large number of new sanctions by many countries against leading politicians, businesspeople, and entities in both Russia and Belarus.

The UK has been one of a number of states leading the way in imposing sanctions, and as

Continue reading How to comply with new sanctions prompted by the conflict in Ukraine By Barley Laing, the UK Managing Director at Melissa

Letter from the Prime Minister to Lord Wolfson

A letter from the Prime Minister to Lord Wolfson, that has just been released.

 

Can ‘One Login for Government’ Deliver Digital Success for the U.K. Public Sector?

By Sascha Giese, Head Geek™ at SolarWinds

The pace of digital transformation across the public sector has accelerated significantly in recent years, and with Covid-19 prompting a near-overnight shift to online services, the process has come a long way already. Services once requiring pages of paperwork now are fully digitised—renewing your passport or driver’s license

Continue reading Can ‘One Login for Government’ Deliver Digital Success for the U.K. Public Sector?

Is your department and supply chain ready for the changes to the Government’s new cyber certification scheme?

By Dave Woodfine, Co-founder and Managing Director at Cyber Security Associates

Earlier this year, the World Economic Forum named cyber security failures as one of the biggest threats facing international governments and business, and the UK is no exception. The UK’s public sector is currently facing a rise in the number of cyber security incidents.

Continue reading Is your department and supply chain ready for the changes to the Government’s new cyber certification scheme?

Council promises to act on recommendations from pioneering community-based crime commission

New police officers, with Councillor Jas Athwal, Leader, London Borough of Redbridge (Photo: Andrew Baker)

An East London borough has adopted a pioneering, community-based approach to prevent and manage crime. In a move which could be replicated across the country, the London Borough of Redbridge is the first local authority to give residents

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Why the U.K. Public Sector Should Monitor U.S. Cybersecurity Trends

By Sascha Giese, Head Geek™ at SolarWinds

Like many countries around the world, the U.K. is familiar with following trends that originally emerged in the U.S. It’s a long-standing idea, amplified in recent years by increasing globalisation and the impact of digital transformation on society.

Take cybersecurity, for example, where the U.S. has been at

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Prime Minister sets out new team to help deliver on the people’s priorities

The Prime Minister has today continued the overhaul of his senior team as he improves the No 10 operation and delivers the change necessary to get on with the job. The new appointments will have the discipline and focus to drive the Prime Minister’s priorities and deliver for the country.

Chancellor of the Duchy of

Continue reading Prime Minister sets out new team to help deliver on the people’s priorities

Scotland: Exams on track

Shirley-Anne Somerville

It remains the government’s ‘firm intention’ to hold National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams this Spring, Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has restated.

Taking into consideration ongoing disruption within schools, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has decided to invoke its Scenario 2 contingency and will provide revision support in early March

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Synalogik raises £3m in Series A Funding round led by Bill Currie and former Tesco CEO, Sir Terry Leahy

Investment will enable the company to further enhance its software solution Scout®. A data aggregation, risk identification and reporting platform that currently allows organisations to more effectively carry out compliance checks, investigations and make intelligent decisions.

Synalogik, the company whose Scout® data automation platform allows organisations to aggregate data, identify risk and create reports,

Continue reading Synalogik raises £3m in Series A Funding round led by Bill Currie and former Tesco CEO, Sir Terry Leahy

Countering Cyberthreats: Becoming Secure by Design

By Charles Damerell, Senior Director, UKI at SolarWinds

Malicious threat actors are now targeting software vendors and IT vendors in a bid to hide zero-day vulnerabilities in legitimate software updates. Since today’s digital supply chains are becoming ever more complex and intertwined, these supply chain attacks now pose a significant threat. By tampering with back-end

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TRADE SECRETARY CHAMPIONS SMALL BUSINESSES TO REACH THEIR EXPORT POTENTIAL

New figures show small businesses exported over £99bn in 2019, up £700m on the previous year

Currently only 1 in 10 small businesses export, as the Trade Secretary encourages SMEs to take up Government offer of support and sell their products to the world

Small businesses across the country are in

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The Pandora Papers highlight the importance of watchlists as part of KYC and AML efforts By Barley Laing, the UK Managing Director at Melissa

Barley Laing, UK Managing Director at Melissa

The Pandora Papers have focused attention on the sometimes questionable and corrupt practises of the politically connected and super wealthy.

They highlight how important it is for the public sector to have access to international sanctions lists or watchlists from governments and regulators of persons who

Continue reading The Pandora Papers highlight the importance of watchlists as part of KYC and AML efforts By Barley Laing, the UK Managing Director at Melissa

Cyber Security in the Public Sector: An Increasingly Lucrative Target That Needs Better Protection

by John Price, Head of Public Sector at Check Point Software UK&I

There’s nothing quite like a global pandemic with legally enforceable lockdowns to expose a demographic’s dependence on digital infrastructure. While the devastating SolarWinds breach in late 2020 made headlines around the world for its impact on corporations like Cisco and Microsoft and their

Continue reading Cyber Security in the Public Sector: An Increasingly Lucrative Target That Needs Better Protection

Putting a Value on Public Sector Data

by Richard Walker, Data and Insights Partner, Agilisys

Over the past 12 months we have frequently heard the Prime Minister declare that Government is “following the science”. At the same time, millions of us have found ourselves staring at charts and monitoring trends eager to understand the current situation. The link between the data that

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