7838posts
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Becoming Foster Carers in the East Midlands
Sharnie and Zak's story We’re Sharnie and Zak, and we’re new foster carers with Foster for East Midlands Councils. We live in Nottinghamshire with our young daughter, and this year, we began our fostering journey after years of talking about …
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Delivering seamless migrations and a future-ready platform
Transition between Gov.UK PaaS and a next-generation internal platform – how we built a resilient, developer-focused foundation for modern digital services at DBT.
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How to apply for 30 hours free childcare and find out if you’re eligible
Here we explain the 30 hours funded childcare scheme for working parents and the 15 hours scheme for families on certain benefits, how to access them and apply.
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A new peat map for England
By Dr Ruth Waters, Director for Evidence, Natural England, and David Jones, Senior Responsible Officer for the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment, Defra England’s peat deposits are one of our most valuable national assets. They’re our largest carbon store, they …
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Empowering the leaders of tomorrow: Leadership Values masterclass
In April 2025, the GSE Profession held our Leadership Values masterclass, with the theme of ‘Innovation’. The event was aimed at developing the skills and values necessary for science and engineering leaders across government using the GSE Leadership Values Toolkit. …
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Advancing digital planning: Open Digital Planning’s first end-to-end product pilots
The first-ever end-to-end digital planning product pilots have been launched across four local planning authorities. The pilots integrate the new products into a unified system to streamline the planning process. Early results are promising and demonstrate how digital innovation is creating a more efficient, transparent planning system for both local authorities and applicants.
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Remote link sites: transforming court experiences for vulnerable witnesses
Discover how HMCTS remote link sites create welcoming spaces where vulnerable witnesses can share their evidence without facing a courtroom – making justice more accessible for those who need it most.
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How we value: small shops
In this instalment of our How We Value series, we explain how small shops are valued across England and Wales.
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Building the future of government software engineering
Learn about why we’re creating the Engineering Excellence council, and what it will mean to the wider software engineering community.
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Transforming potential into impact: introducing the Knowledge Asset Spinouts Guide
Author: Jacob Coker, Head of Policy, and Cameron Fenwick, Senior Technology Transfer Strategic Partner, GOTT Introducing the new Spinouts guide The public sector hosts some of the UK’s leading research and innovation, which, if commercialised as new products and services, …
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Unlocking Accessibility: Information Architects share their approach to digital accessibility and design with people with disabilities
We asked information architects for advice on prioritising accessibility, educating teams, avoiding pitfalls, and using tools to ensure accessible information architecture.
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Born in Britain: the innovators and inventions that helped win World War II
Today we're shining a searchlight on some impressive wartime inventions. Britain has always been a nation of innovators, but in the lead up to and during World War II, British ingenuity led to innovation that formed the basis of inventions we still use today.
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Designing policy with complex evidence
Farming policy design experts from Defra get to grips with making sense of complexity.
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Seven Nations Marine Planning workshop
On 7 May representatives from the marine planning departments of England, Guernsey, Ireland, Jersey, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Scotland, and Wales attended the Seven Nations Marine Planning Workshop, organised by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO). The in-person workshop …
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The East Marine Plan Statement of Public Participation (SPP) has been refreshed to highlight changes in the timeline
An SPP, required under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (MACAA), is the contract between the MMO and our stakeholders which sets out how, when, and why we carry out engagement. An SPP also outlines what we will do …
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Svarog Penalty: A Lesson in Information Offences
On 11 April 2025, OFSI imposed a monetary penalty of £5,000 on the UK-registered company Svarog Shipping & Trading Company Limited (“Svarog”). This penalty relates to an information offence and is the first of its kind to be issued by …
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The importance of oral health in children’s social care
Our goals for oral health in children’s social care We've been working closely with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to look at the importance of good oral health for children. We want to tackle oral health inequality by driving improvement …
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Making the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS) mandatory across government
The use of the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS) became mandatory for central government in 2024. Read about how the GDS Data and AI ethics team have rolled out the mandate across government and how they have updated the ATRS to reflect learnings from this process.
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Introduction to the role of evaluation in fisheries management plans
We are always improving how FMPs are developed and implemented, but how do we do that?
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UK Launches Planetary Protection Technical Framework
Planetary protection is the practice of protecting Solar System bodies from contamination by Earth life and protecting Earth from possible contaminants that may be returned from other Solar System bodies. Following months of collaborative work between academia, industry, the Civil …
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NHS AAA Screening Programme proves its effectiveness
A review of data has found that AAA screening in the UK has been effective and has contributed substantially to ongoing reductions in AAA-related deaths.
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Welcoming the Casey Commission
Baroness Louise Casey has begun her role as Chair of the Independent Commission (the Commission) into Adult Social Care. Baroness Casey marked the formal start of the Commission by chairing a roundtable with people with first-hand experience of the social …
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Guest blog: Benefits of engaging local communities in BNG
Rosie Whicheloe, Senior Planning Ecologist for a local authority in London, explains how she’s looking at the benefits of public engagement in BNG for the communities in which they live. Delivering social value alongside BNG is incredibly important in urban …
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Welcoming new pathways to GFiE Life Chance Recruitment
In Going Forward into Employment (GFiE) we develop, run and support life chance recruitment pathways across the civil service. In fact we’ve been helping departments and agencies recruit talented people across the UK and NI since 2018 - that’s seven …
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A day in the life: Policy colleagues engage with key RVN stakeholders
While discussing the role of Registered Veterinary Nurses (RVNs) within the veterinary team, 2 members of the veterinary policy team in Defra headed to Swindon to visit a large independent hospital. They spent the day shadowing the veterinary nursing team, …
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Funding Service: Transforming an Excel spreadsheet into a user-friendly form
Find out how the Funding Service transformed a complex monitoring spreadsheet into a user-friendly digital form, helping to reduce admin burden for local authorities and improve data quality for policy colleagues.
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StaCU: A Year of Building Trust and Accountability
By Robin Simcox, Commissioner for Countering Extremism Today, we publish the first annual report of the Standards and Compliance Unit (StaCU), documenting a year of operations since its February 2024 launch. When I was tasked by the Home Secretary with …
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Juror Appreciation Week 2025: Understanding Jury Service
Every year, thousands are called for jury service, it's an essential part of our justice system. From eligibility and selection, to what happens in court, this blog offers a clear look at the process, with insight from someone who’s recently served.
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Farming Equipment and Technology Fund 2025: guidance now available
The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) opens for applications on 29 May, offering grants of up to £25,000 to help cut costs and boost efficiency on your farm. To help you prepare, we’ve published guidance on GOV.UK. In this post, we’ll give an overview of what the grant offers and how to apply.
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New Video Released: Marine plan policy assessment in decision-making
The Marine Planning Team are pleased to announce the release of a new video on marine plan-led decisions, now available to view on YouTube: Marine plan policy assessment in decision-making - YouTube This informative video is designed to support applicants, …
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When are year 6 SATs 2025? Key dates for parents and pupils
Year 6 pupils in England will soon be taking the key stage 2 (KS2) national curriculum tests, which are often referred to as SATs. The assessments are used to measure school performance and to make sure individual pupils are …
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Are we prepared for a drought? The water resilience challenge
With summer approaching and after several months of dry weather, many are wondering if the country is facing a potential drought. After an exceptionally wet 2024, this year has taken a dramatically different turn. From floods to drought concerns There’s …
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Working together to stop waste criminals
Waste crime is a scourge impacting communities, the economy and the environment. At the Environment Agency, we know only too well the impact criminals are having in the waste industry. Ranging from the ‘man with a van’ collecting rubbish for …
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Consultation opens on newborn screening for metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD)
The UK NSC has opened a public consultation on screening for metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD).
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Listening to our stakeholders: how feedback is shaping the work of the Trade Remedies Authority
Every year the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) undertakes independent research to understand how people and organisations we work with most closely rate us. We listen to ways they tell us we can improve, and what our stakeholders expect from us. …
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Blueprint for Modern Digital Government Comes Alive at GDS Local Government Innovation Hackathon in Leeds
Over 150 innovators from across local and central government came together to reimagine the planning system at the GDS Local Government Innovation Hackathon. 15 teams tackled real planning challenges with digital tools and AI – bringing the Blueprint for a Modern Digital Government to life.
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A philosophical approach to learning at work
Getting ready for this year's Learning at Work Week, 12 to 16 May 2025.
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World Veterinary Day 2025: moulding your professional identity
By Sion Rowlands This July, 28 years will have passed since I saw my name at the bottom of a lengthy list of successful veterinary graduates at Liverpool University. I was far from sure what that meant then, and to …
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Government Veterinary Services Lunch and Learn session April 2025
Have you ever wondered what roles there are for vets in government? Did you know vet roles exist in 9 government departments? Our colleagues in the Government Veterinary Service (GVS) held a chat to share an overview of their careers …
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Creating the adult social care workforce we need
More opportunities for career progression in adult social care Developing the social care workforce is paramount to success and delivering the ambition for change we want and need to see in adult social care. On 9 April, Secretary of State, …