7385posts
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Podcast: Tackling your digital carbon footprint
What impact are digital estates having on climate change? What challenges do organisations face in improving their sustainability offer?
Find out what we're doing in our first podcast of a brand new series. -
Landscape Recovery: first round now open for applications
The Landscape Recovery scheme is for landowners and managers who want to take a more radical and large-scale approach to producing environmental and climate goods on their land. I’m pleased to say that the application window for the first round of Landscape Recovery pilot projects is now open.
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Public Consultation on new Clinical Trials Legislation
The MHRA has launched an 8-week public consultation on proposals for legislative changes for clinical trials. Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, the Medicines and Medical Devices Act allows us the opportunity to update our current legislation in relation …
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World Cancer Day: Big wins from small acts of kindness
Ahead of World Cancer Day on 4 February, Seonaid Webb tells how small kindnesses can help make such a difference to colleagues facing cancer. Over the past two years, the impact of COVID-19 on people affected by cancer has been …
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Making hearing lists more accessible to court and tribunal users
As part of our commitment to open justice, we're developing a new service that will modernise and improve how members of the public, the media and legal professionals find court and tribunal hearing lists.
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How we are levelling up education all over the country
Every person should have the same opportunity to make the most of their abilities and succeed in life. But, currently, too many people’s chances of getting on in life are adversely affected by where they live. The government’s central mission …
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One South West Civil Service careers showcase
Tickets are now available for our One South West Civil Service careers showcase on Monday 7 March. The event will include an introduction from senior leaders in the Rural Payments Agency, Crown Prosecution Service, National Crime Agency and HM Revenue and Customs.
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Improving Farming Productivity grant: dairy scoring update
The 2-step application process for the Improving Farm Productivity grant starts with an online eligibility checker. Unfortunately, the online checker was scoring dairy sector applications ‘weak’ or ‘average’. It did not appear possible to score highly. This error was investigated and a glitch in the scoring was identified. It has been fixed. Those who were deterred from applying because of this are encouraged to try again. No one will be disadvantaged because of this.
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Regulatory Policy Committee welcomes new members
A welcome and introduction to the RPC's five new members and one re-appointment.
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The expansion of the beauty industry in the UK
The beauty and health industry is growing rapidly. We take a look at the number of live companies using ‘beauty’ in their name and speak with Clinica Fiore Skin Medica, a cosmetic skin clinic that’s noticed a rise in popularity amongst the younger generation.
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The most popular words in live UK company names
An analysis of the most popular words used in live UK company names.
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Standard industrial classification (SIC) codes: offering insight into the business climate
Standard industrial classification (SIC) codes are a useful tool for organising the number of companies in the UK. Here, we take a look at pairings of SIC codes, which offers a more detailed picture of companies and the wider trends within the UK business climate.
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An analysis of the first letter of live company names in the UK
We take a look at the popularity of initial letters in live company names.
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How bookstores are making a comeback in the UK
We examine the history of bookselling companies in the UK and take a look at how independent bookstores are making a comeback.
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How communities have helped public houses and bars in the UK
Pubs are so commonplace in the UK, they often seem part of the landscape itself. We discover how people and the art of being together are helping to keep pubs going in the UK.
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Analysing the age demographics of business sectors in the UK
We look at the various ages of directors to reveal interesting business trends in the UK.
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A history of ice cream manufacturing for the general public
In recent years, the number of ice cream manufacturers has exploded. We look at the history of ice cream manufacturers in the UK, and how companies like Ruby Violet are adding to the nation’s love for ice cream.
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Scottish distilleries: standing the test of time
For such an old and distinguished industry, Scottish distilleries have had quite an uncertain decade. Here we examine how distilleries in Scotland are making an innovative comeback, with the spotlight on Isle of Arran Whisky.
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Analysing data to identify risks at the UK border
As part of the 2024 DDaT Strategy we have committed to becoming a more data-driven organisation. In this post we discuss how we’re achieving this at the UK border.
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Why I moved from clinical practice to government veterinary surveillance
Veterinary Investigation Officer Leanne Forde wanted to be a vet since she was a little girl. Find out how she went from living the James Herriot lifestyle in farm animal practice to starting an interesting career as a government vet.
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Managing staff shortages in a SEND school
Matt Rooney is the Principal of St Giles School in Retford. In this blog, he shares how his staff are working together and with parents/carers, local authorities and agencies to keep supporting their students in the face of increased staff absences.
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Come and co-create Services Week 2022
Services Week is returning from 7–11 March 2022 for its fourth year. Again, it will be a week of events to increase service literacy and create an exchange about good service transformation.
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2022-2023 Student Loan repayment Thresholds Confirmed
The repayment threshold for Plan 2 student loans – the income level above which post-2012 student loan borrowers are required to make repayments - will remain at its current level of £27,295 per year for the next financial year. The …
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FACTSHEET: Extradition
Extradition process Extradition is an important tool in our fight against transnational crime. Once the UK has received an extradition request and it has been certified, it is sent to court, where the judge must decide whether to issue an …
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CS Awards: PM's Award for Exceptional Public Service
Rizwan Ahmad paved the way to help more than 5,500 young East Londoners join the Kickstart scheme. Rizwan Ahmad was “proud, privileged and humbled” to scoop the inaugural Prime Minister's Award for Exceptional Public Service. Rizwan saw off stiff competition …
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How accessibility issues led to 'authentically-voiced' content on the Hub
In the previous blog about how a focus on accessibility moulded the Content Hub, we talked about how a simple misunderstanding of rules and protocol in prison establishments can lead to increased frustration, anger, and violence. In this blog, we …
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Civil Service Awards 2021: Is AI helping you go on holiday?
Whether it’s augmented reality, NFTs, or the impending arrival of the Metaverse, we’d be forgiven for getting lost in this modern digital age. But for a team in HM Passport Office, the power of technology is being harnessed to help …
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Revisiting safeguarding practice
Continuous professional development in safeguarding practice is essential if we are to serve individuals, families, and communities well. The recently published Revisiting safeguarding practice will support local authority social workers to refresh their knowledge and understanding of their roles and responsibilities in responding to enquiries and concerns.
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Civil Service Awards: Vaccines rollout, call to arms
The primary call to action for the last two years has been to roll up your sleeves and get jabbed, but how much do you know about the team behind the needles? On the whole, the public has responded with …
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Tree Production Innovation Fund - Second spotlight on successful applicants
The Tree Production Innovation Fund aims to support innovative projects to increase and diversify domestic tree production. In our second blog post on the successful projects recieving funding, read about three more.
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Civil Service Awards: Data modelling isn't a crystal ball
The government has often talked about “following the science” - but how? One way is by utilising the Scientific Pandemic Influenza group on Modelling (SPI-M), all made possible by a small team of brilliant civil servants. The SPI-M Secretariat is …
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Natural England's Climate Change Adaptation Plan
Today we have published our Climate Change Risk Assessment and Adaptation Plan. The plan has been produced, along with many other organisations, to report under the third round of the Adaptation Reporting Power of the Climate Change Act 2008. As …
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We’re winners: tackling economic crime
We are responsible for collecting money that pays for the UK’s public services and giving financial support to people who need it and that includes tackling economic crime. We recently spoke to Alex whose team won the Outstanding Team award …
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Dragons' Den, Episode 4, Series 19
Eco-friendly disinfectant for those keen to erase viruses, a potential remedy to the fast-fashion crisis and non-alcoholic beer – great for those undertaking Dry January. This week’s Dragons’ Den certainly reflects current times.
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Get involved with the Policy Design Community in 2022
Read about the opportunities to meet and work with other policy design people in our cross-government community.
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Civil Service Awards: Helping Welsh businesses survive the pandemic
During the pandemic, one team in the Welsh Government freed up £2bn plus to help support businesses, communities and families. To help revitalise the Welsh economy, a cross Welsh Government team of civil servants formed the Economic Resilience Fund (ERF) …
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Introducing the UK Agriculture Partnership
The UK's devolved administrations already work closely to ensure their policies are aligned. However, to share scientific ideas, solutions and innovations, Defra set up the UK Agriculture Partnership. It launched today and we'd like to share a little more about it in this post.
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Trialling telephone requisitions
We are exploring reintroducing calls to resolve requisitions.
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Should your genes push up the price of your car insurance?
New report from the Government Office for Science investigates the future uses and considerations of genomic science How would you feel if your genomic information made your car insurance more expensive? Would you want to find out whether your child was …
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An important step for England’s landscapes: welcoming the new Natural England Landscape Advisory Panel
I am delighted to announce that the new Natural England Landscape Advisory Panel meets for the first time today, which is an important step in our work to deliver more for and from England’s landscapes. Landscape is one of Natural …