GOV.UK blogs

Duncan Selbie's Friday Message - 3 April 2020

This week our Chief Executive's message covers testing for COVID-19, new guidance that has been published on PPE, mental health and care of the deceased, a new WhatsApp chatbot tool for COVID-19 information, and the establishment of Public Health Scotland.

Process Licensing Update

The purpose of this post is to give an update on a change to how we are issuing our licences and certificates due to the coronavirus pandemic; and a reminder to keep your contact details up to date.

How GOV.UK Notify reliably sends text messages to users

The Notify team has adjusted its method of sending out text messages to maintain Notify's reliability. In this post we explain how it was done.

Update on our 2020 consultation

The Low Pay Commission’s consultation on the 2021 minimum wage rates launched on Thursday 12 March. It was launched as a 12-week consultation, with a deadline of Thursday 4 June. The growth of the coronavirus outbreak since then – along …

Civil Service job share and flexible working – where we are now

Brian Stanislas rounds up recent activities and developments in flexible working and the Civil Service Job Share Finder.

Unique property identifiers to be opened under Open Government License

Unique property identifiers will be available as open data under the Open Government Licence from July 2020. Read about what this means for the PropTech sector and the wider significance of the decision.

Nutritional content of the government food parcels

This week the first free food boxes containing essential supplies have been delivered across England to those at highest risk from coronavirus.

Social work register

Today's blog focuses on measures to increase social workers amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Applauding our vital public services: delivering essential support during the Coronavirus pandemic

When we all welcomed the arrival of the new year just three short months ago, I suspect very few – if any - of us could have imagined the relentless march of COVID-19 across the globe nor the impact it …

User Research and COVID-19: crowdsourcing tools and tips for remote research

This blog reports on a GDS user research workshop to build a toolbox of remote working tools we can use while COVID-19 is with us. Please do feel free to let us know any other tools you use.

Identifying properties and streets in government data

The Geospatial Commission has announced that UPRN and USRN data will be openly accessible from July onwards, helping public sector organisations to streamline services and improve the quality of the data they hold.

Supporting your wellbeing when remote working

Learn about how to look after your wellbeing whilst remote working

Factsheet: Immigration detention and the response to coronavirus

Immigration Enforcement is responding to the unique circumstances of the coronavirus outbreak and following the latest guidance from Public Health England. During this time, the health and safety of our staff, and all those within the immigration system, is more …

Even for a pandemic expert like me, life in isolation has been a struggle

I love my job. For ten years I have worked at Public Health England (PHE) and its predecessor, the Health Protection Agency, responding to major public health emergencies including the ebola outbreak and the Novichok poisoning. There is nothing more …

EU Settlement Scheme: Impact of Coronavirus

More than 3 million have already been granted status and EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens, and their family members still have more than 15 months before the deadline of 30 June 2021 to apply.

Leadership in Action

As she leaves the Civil Service, Clare Moriarty describes a new initiative on leadership that she has helped to develop.

Closure of the Defence in the Media Blog

The Defence in the Media blog is now closed. In future all media updates and responses may be found on the official MOD Twitter account. All previous blog posts will remain accessible, but no new posts will be made. The …

The butterfly effect

'From what I’ve observed, policy solutions are often narrow in focus and are limited to a certain sector. A genuinely interdisciplinary approach means we can identify and carry out multiple targeted interventions across sectors. Consider the butterfly.'

Blockchain technology

In this latest blog, we find out how blockchain technology helps us with everyday transactions. The technology shows that money does not have any intrinsic value of its own – it is the trust that people have for the authority issuing the money that creates its value.

Reaction to UK aid support for coronavirus vaccine

Positive UK media coverage for UK aid funding for research to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.

Free School Meals

Today's blog outlines the launch of a national voucher scheme aimed at children eligible for free school meals while schools are closed due to coronavirus.

How to interview people online

We're all adjusting to new ways of working. Here Katie Pether talks about how recruitment teams can make sure interviewees get he same high quality experience as they would in a face-to-face interview.

Transgender Day of Visibility

Civil Service LGB&TI Champion Jonathan Slater says Transgender Day of Visibility is "a time to share and uplift the voices of our trans community", but we should treat all our colleagues with respect at all times.

Advice for Good Laboratory Practice facilities in relation to coronavirus (COVID-19)

It is recognised that there are potential challenges specific to GLP facilities and studies at this time. The aim of this post is to provide you with information that will enable a flexible but compliant approach during this period.

In Their Words: Arpinder Kaur Bansi and Mandeep Bansi

For National Intergenerational Week, last week, we spoke to mother, Arpinder Kaur Bansi, and daughter, Mandeep Bansi about their incredible careers and how the role models in their lives were so important to spur them on in their jobs to …

Introducing the GOV.UK cloud guide

GDS is putting all of its cloud policy, guidance and case studies in one place to make it easier for public sector organisations to find the information and use the cloud.

Second round of funding open to plant urban trees

In this morning's blog (31 March) we look at the opening of round two of the Urban Tree Challenge Fund.

Why 'self-isolating' should not mean 'cut off'

Georgia from Cabinet Office explains why self-isolating because of the coronavirus hasn't prevented her from staying in touch.

Baseball and Defence

What do baseball and the MOD have in common? No, this isn't the start of a bad joke. The answer, surprisingly, is data. Our Head of Data recently watched Moneyball, a film adapted from the book by Michael Lewis, which is …

Developing the first trunk identification guide for CITES-listed species: Identifying headless, finless sharks

The challenge of identifying shark trunks Trade of shark meat has increased substantially over the last decade and in Indonesia shark meat consumption is at an all-time high, providing an important source of local protein to coastal communities. As well …

Dragons' Den Series 17: Episode 12

There were many interesting products and ideas in the Den tonight, although some were successful in securing investment and others were not.

The Observer on seasonal workers in the farming sector

Our response to an Observer story on seasonal workers in the farming industry.

Mail on Sunday on food supply to care homes and hospitals

Our response to a Mail on Sunday story on food supply to the health and social care sectors.

First food parcels delivered to clinically vulnerable people

The first food boxes have been delivered to those vulnerable people being shielded from coronavirus.

Staff who miss out on holiday due to Coronavirus can carry it over for 2 years

On Saturday 28 March there was widespread media coverage of an announcement that staff who might have forfeited annual leave due to Covid-19 could carry it over for 2 years.

Government cuts business red tape to help firms deal with coronavirus

Today’s papers cover the announcement to remove red tape to get vital supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the NHS frontline.

The power of data in a pandemic

The NHS is facing an unprecedented challenge. Responding to the COVID-19 crisis will require everything we have and more. In the fight against this pandemic, decision-makers will need accurate real-time information.

Prime Minister pledges UK aid backing for coronavirus vaccine search

The Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday that the UK is using its aid budget to help find a coronavirus vaccine, has been widely covered in media. Much coverage featured his plea to world leaders to unite to develop a vaccine – …

Duncan Selbie's Friday Message - 27 March 2020

This week our Chief Executive's message covers shielding for the extremely vulnerable people at highest risk from coronavirus, the many volunteers that have signed up to support the NHS, and the results of the 2019 Civil Service People Survey.

Finding our strength in unusual times

Claire Wood is a first placement social work student from Bradford College. She is currently placed at Roshni Ghar, a mental health charity providing culturally appropriate, responsive services for South Asian women experiencing mental ill health. Like many in her situation, her placement has been paused because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Claire offers some honest, empathic and ultimately positive reflections on the world we find ourselves in and suggests how we can look out for each other, professionally and personally, in these most unusual of times.