4274posts
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What is avian flu?
In recent weeks, a number of cases of avian influenza, or ‘bird flu’ as it’s commonly known, have been confirmed across England, Scotland, and Wales. This blog explains what Avian flu is and how the situation is being managed.
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Exploring how technology can support us in applying our professional judgement
Could artificial intelligence bring efficiency savings, freeing up valuable time to focus on what matters most – quality decision-making? Claire Hamar, Head of Innovation and Improvement at the Inspectorate, explains more about a new project to explore the potential of artificial intelligence
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Is a Sigh Just a Sigh?
This blog discusses Stress. Stress is the body’s natural reaction to real or perceived harmful situations. In this post you can find out about the physiological benefits of breathing to effectively reduce your physical and mental stress.
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Social care reform: making mental health a priority
Kathy Roberts is CEO of The Association of Mental Health Providers, the only national organisation with over 280 members representing voluntary and community sector providers of mental health and wellbeing services. In her debut DHSC blog, Kathy goes back to basics, describing why mental health social care and support services are essential, the impact they have on people’s lives, and how the sector can inform the social care reform strategy.
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Can Christmas plays, nativities and other festive events in schools and nurseries go ahead this year?
Christmas and nativity plays are one of our most cherished school traditions. Sadly last year many had to be cancelled but this year, as we are at a different stage of the pandemic and so many people are benefitting from …
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Standards bodies: Who's who?
Lord Evans outlines the differences between CSPL, the House of Commons Committee on Standards, and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards
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How can students access free period products in school or college?
No-one should be held back from accessing education due to their period. In January 2020, we launched the Period Products Scheme to provide learners with period products when they need them.
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What do you need to thrive in your job?
Andrew Knight from the UK's Policy Profession writes about how you can get involved with reforming government.
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Great British Beach Clean coverage
Today we are looking at media coverage of the results of the 2021 Great British Beach Clean
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New report into sewage discharges during the bathing season
Today’s blog looks at media coverage on the annual report from Surfers Against Sewage on storm overflows during the bathing water season.
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Making data more accessible for DIT colleagues
How the Data Infrastructure team develop tools which support DIT colleagues to make better use of their data
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Carers Rights Day: knowledge, access, support
"Every year, when Carers UK holds Carers Rights Day, it’s an opportunity to raise awareness. People don’t see themselves as unpaid carers but as partners, wives, husbands, sons, daughters, and close friends first. Yet, providing unpaid care to someone who has a health condition, who is older or who has a disability, can have a profound impact on their health, wellbeing, paid work and relationships." Carers UK CEO Helen Walker explains more...
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Championing the Carer agenda
Alex Chisholm, Civil Service Inclusion Champion, and Rebecca Sudworth, Deputy Champion for Carers, highlight the importance of carer awareness. Today 25 November is Carers Rights Day, an opportunity to recognise the skills and insights our carers bring to their work …
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Identifying the challenges and solutions for tackling online Violence Against Women and Girls
As part of the Online Safety Data Initiative, DCMS is working with the Home Office to carry out a 6-week Discovery project into online Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
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Clear-eyed and looking ahead: The Strategic Command Strategy
Following the publication of the Strategic Command strategy, Strategic Command’s Director Strategy Air Vice Marshal Justin Reuter reflects on how and why we need to embrace change. Following the publication of the Integrated Review earlier this year, it was clear that all …
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World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2021: Reflections on the Veterinary Medicines Directorate’s AMR work
To celebrate Antimicrobial Resistance Week, Kitty Healey, a vet from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), talks about VMD's achievements this year and what the aspirations are for 2022.
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Content Hub launches into the first Young Offenders Institution
In July 2021 the Content Hub team in Sheffield were thrilled to go LIVE into HMYOI Cookham Wood, a Young Offenders' Institution (YOI) in Rochester, Kent for boys aged 15 to 18. This will be followed by rollout to the …
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Tackling climate change and extinction - the farm that’s showing the way
Cholderton is a 1000-hectare estate on the Hampshire/Wiltshire border. It participated in one of Defra's environmental land management test and trials to develop a model land management plan based on the exemplary principles adopted by the estate. In this guest post, Merrick Denton-Thompson shares his view.
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Care colleagues: please get your flu jab!
The nights are drawing in and autumn is becoming winter. This change in season brings with it increasing risks from seasonal viruses, including flu. UKHSA's Dr. Éamonn O'Moore explains why getting the flu jab is more important than ever.
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COP26 and our sustainability plans
David Price, Head of Operations and Lead for the Environmental Group at the Planning Inspectorate, reflects on the outcomes from COP26 and what our Environmental Policy means for our sustainability plans.
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Simpler tribunal service helps users
Our tribunals hear about a million cases each year and no matter what type of case someone is involved in, the experience can have a huge impact on their life. Many people deal with their own case without legal support, which can add to the stress of the situation. There’s a human story behind every hearing.
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National Network of Special Schools (NNoSS)
Pauline Aitchison, Deputy Director of Schools North East and the Network Lead for the National Network of Special Schools for School Business Professionals, talk about the importance of the National Network of Special Schools.
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Russia ASAT Test: UK Space Agency response and analysis of the debris
How the UK Space Agency responded to the fragmentation of COSMOS1408 on 15 November 2021.
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At the cutting edge: our Local Land Charges Programme wins coveted digital award
Our Local Land Charges Programme has won the Geospatial Innovation of the Year category in the Digital Leaders 100 awards. We are incredibly proud that industry has recognised the importance and long-term benefits of the programme and the national register.
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Developing a trailer safety accreditation scheme
Mark Winn, DVSA’s Chief Driving Examiner, shares details about the first workshop we’ve held to develop a trailer safety accreditation scheme.
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Quality assuring providers of full-time online education
Chris Russell, National Director for Education, discusses our consultation on full-time online education.
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How schools and parents can spot and tackle online abuse of teachers
There has been coverage in the media of teachers and other school and college staff receiving abuse on social media platforms including TikTok and Instagram.
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PATH-SAFE: Tracking foodborne pathogens and antimicrobial-resistant microbes
To mark the end of World Antibiotic Awareness Week, Eva Scholtus and Emily Parr from the Microbiology Society discuss our collaborative workshop series as part of the Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and the Environment (PATH-SAFE) programme.
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Celebrating excellence in education and recognising the amazing work of teachers
There are no words to describe how I felt when I found out that I had won the Gold Award for Outstanding New Teacher of the Year; I was genuinely speechless. It’s a privilege not only to help shape my students’ success but to also mentor student teachers and help them be the best they can be.
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Review of Health and Social Care Leadership: an open letter to all those who work in health and social care
Following the government's announcement of a review of leadership in health and social care, General Sir Gordon Messenger and Dame Linda Pollard have written to those working in health and social care with their thoughts on this important piece of work.
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FACTSHEET: Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre
Nationality and Borders Bill – the New Plan for Immigration The Nationality and Borders Bill is the cornerstone of the government’s New Plan for Immigration, delivering the most comprehensive reform in decades to fix the broken asylum system. The Bill …
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Celebrating success with our Technology Innovation team
Tony Riggs explains how our Technology Innovation team has done some innovative work recently to monitor the effects of trees at absorbing carbon dioxide, and on using high performance compute (HPC) technology for speeding up flood modelling, work which has received industry recognition.
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Flood Action Week
The Environment Agency has urged the people to take action during Flood Action Week, as the Met Office has predicted an above average likelihood of a wet winter this year.
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Customers support time-saving form RXC
Form RXC makes the process of complying with the terms of a restriction easier for everyone involved. We’re very pleased it’s proved popular with many of our customers. We have been working with them to improve the form so even more customers will adopt it and embed it in their systems.
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The Environment Act 2021 – a turning point for Nature
By Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England In years to come we might well look back on November 2021 as a turning point in our relationship with Nature. It will be remembered as the month when the UK helped to forge …
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Revitalising the sand dune ecology of Braunton Burrows
The Braunton Burrows sand dune system on the North Devon coast is the second largest dune system in the UK and a site of international importance for its wildlife and ecology. It’s also an excellent location for military training, with …
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Creating clear instructions for all users
Over 180 million Covid-19 rapid lateral flow tests have been offered to the public. Senior content designer Ben Clancy explains how they made the tests’ printed instructions easy to understand.
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The UK and Canada - working together in space
At Canada House in London last week, UK and Canadian space delegations came together to celebrate the collaboration between our two space sectors.
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Join us at our next Continuous Improvement Network meeting on 26 November
Join us at the next meeting of the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber Continuous Improvement network
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Preparing for BPS removal: why you should consider Countryside Stewardship
In this post, I’d like to share what we’ve done to make Countryside Stewardship a more attractive option for more farmers as they plan for the impact of Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) reductions and subsequent removal.