8457posts
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From Multi Academy Trust sceptic to advocate
Liz Whetham shares her journey from being wary of MATs to embracing the benefits for her leadership, school staff and the student’s outcomes.
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Enabling the responsible use of AI in defence
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has today published the UK’s Defence AI Strategy, outlining how the UK will prioritise research, development and experimentation to revolutionise the UK’s Armed Forces capabilities. Additionally, the MoD has published a policy on the ‘Ambitious, …
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Civil Service Awards 2022: Nominations are now open!
We’re looking for the best of the best of civil servants, the crème de la crème and the people’s pick - which means we want your nominations! The clock is ticking! On 8 June, the Civil Service launched its annual …
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NHSE/I FutureNHS alpha assessment and reassessment
Read the alpha assessment report for the FutureNHS service from NHSE/I. This report contains the original alpha assessment report from 11 June 2021 as well as the reassessed service standard points from 13 January 2022.
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Government Food Strategy to back farmers, spread jobs and grow economy
Today we are looking at media coverage of the Government’s Food Strategy
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How we’re supporting disadvantaged children in the school holidays
Since 2018, the Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF) has been supporting thousands of children and families in the school holidays. We’ve been working closely with supermarkets like the Co-Op and Waitrose and sports organisations like the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 organisers on the …
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Building a new online divorce service that works for everyone
In April, the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 came into force. Find out how we’ve developed an online service to accommodate the change in law.
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Female leadership in DIT DDaT: breaking barriers and reflecting the public we serve
We reflect on being shortlisted for the Best Public Sector Employer at the Women in Tech Awards 2022 and why leading diverse teams matters.
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The Big Apple: Talking about Disability Rights at the UN
The 15th session of Conference of States Parties (COSP) is being held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 14 to 16 June 2022. What does this mean? Why is it important? Find out more. What is COSP? …
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Enabling responsible access to demographic data for algorithmic bias detection
This week, we announced the launch of a new programme of work around enabling responsible access to data. One of the initial workstreams in this programme is exploring the potential for novel approaches to data stewardship to support organisations to …
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6 tips for building a genuinely helpful chatbot
A better chatbot is possible! Helpful questions to ask yourself when designing a chatbot.
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How blood donations make a difference to my life
On World Blood Donor Day Defra Digital, data, and technology Business Manager Sam Chapman reflects on the importance of giving blood to someone like her whose life has literally been saved by the goodwill of others.
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Introducing our responsible data access work programme
Access to data is an obvious requirement for data-driven innovation, but many innovators struggle to access the data they need. In a recent CDEI survey, 86% of vendors of AI and data-driven technologies stated that a number of data-related factors …
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New staffing support for Local Authorities creating woodland to tackle climate change
Find out about the new Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund. For upper-tier local authorities it provides revenue support for new staff needed to accelerate plans for tree and woodland planting.
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What we’ve learned from one year of Real User Monitoring data on GOV.UK
We do a deep dive into what we've learned from the Real User Monitoring (RUM) data that we started collecting in June last year.
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Climbing Kilimanjaro, GDS team’s charity work makes a difference
Usmaan Dar is raising money for a charity that works in Africa to provide clean water: like all of GDS keen to make a difference.
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Inside Policy: Operation Warm Welcome
When the Afghan government collapsed in 2021, a significant cross-government effort - Operation Warm Welcome - swung into action to support refugees arriving in Britain to rebuild their lives. Two civil servants describe how they help give Afghans a voice. …
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What you need to know about Plan 2 student loan repayments
*This post was updated on 10 August 2022 to reflect the announcement that student loan interest rates for current borrowers will be capped to protect them from a rise in inflation. Here's what you need to know about student loan …
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A day in the life of a GDS Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)
Curious about how our Site Reliability Engineers do their job? Jonathan Harden shares what his typical work routine looks like, and what benefits the role has.
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I-VMS - Focus on: data collection
We are supporting industry to meet the requirement to have an I-VMS device installed and operational before the introduction of the Statutory Instrument (SI), scheduled for late 2022. I-VMS will help us understand individual and fleet fishing patterns and ultimately …
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Join the government’s highest-level advisory body on science and technology
*Deadline Extended* The Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology is looking to recruit 3 new members to join the council. The Council for Science and Technology is the government’s highest-level advisory body on science and technology; delivering advice directly …
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Minister reiterates government commitment to improve water quality
The Strategic Policy Statement (SPS), which was laid in Parliament in February, sets out to Ofwat as the economic regulator its expectations for the sector over the next five year spending cycle and beyond.
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What is a free school? Everything you need to know
All children in England between the ages of 5 and 16 are entitled to a free place at a state school. All state schools receive funding through their local authority or directly from the government. But there are different types …
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Public sector innovation: John Innes Centre scientists use technology to boost tomatoes' vitamin D levels
The John Innes Centre (JIC) is sponsored by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, and is an international centre in plant science, genetics, and microbiology in England, founded in 1910. JIC’s research aims to address global challenges and use …
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How we built a breakthrough online service to protect endangered elephants
Product Manager Ian Tester explains how a new Government digital service built by Defra supports the toughest ivory ban in the world.
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New ‘Appeal a planning decision’ service launches
Olu Abraham-Sunday, Product Manager at the Planning Inspectorate, explains about the recent launch on GOV.UK and what’s next.
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Being openly LGBTQI+ in the prison service
As part of Pride month, prison officer Jaxon Feeley shares how he navigated his transgender journey with the support of colleagues and prisoners at HMP Hindley. Serving four years as Jessica Feeley and then walking back through those gates as …
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Carers Week: mental health support for both carers and the cared for
Tracey thought her fiancé was struggling with his father’s death but realised later he was experiencing psychosis. She describes how caring for him has brought them even closer together. Marking Carers Week, this wonderful blog, brought to us by Rethink Mental Illness, reminds us that, while unpaid carers are doing an amazing job supporting loved …
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A collaborative approach to mental health services
The justice system and national health service offer essential support to some of the most vulnerable members of our society.
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How many pupils from Ukraine have been given school places in England?
We’ve published data that shows how many children from Ukraine have applied for and been offered school places since the start of the war. Here we answer your questions on the data.
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Launching our ‘Women in Data’ network
We're excited to be launching a new network for women working in data roles in DWP Digital. Read more from Gemma about what the network hopes to achieve.
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How we are continuing to support students who are struggling at university
Helping students be happy and healthy in their studies is crucial. That’s why, thanks to the creation of the first ever Student Support Champion, students will soon be able to benefit from more joined-up support from their universities Here’s everything …
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Supporting carers at the CMA
Most people's lives will include one episode of caring for another. That's why we’re proud to announce that we’ve joined the Employers for Carers membership forum! At the CMA we're committed to creating an environment where employees can be open around their caring responsibilities and are supported. Find out more in James' blog.
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Carers Week: adult social work's role supporting unpaid carers
"It is part of our job as social workers to be intuitively and professionally aware of the needs of those we serve" says Lyn Romeo, Chief Social Worker for Adults. "Carers Week emphasises the theme of making sure carers are ‘visible, valued and supported’, which reminds us of the principles of our practice."
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GSE Conference: Highlights from Chief Scientific Advisors
The GSE Profession hosted the GSE Conference on 9 May at the London Science Museum, attended by over 400 in-person attendees as well as over 2000 members online. This was a really great event which showcased the breadth and depth …
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Farming Investment Fund: Adding Value grants open for applications from 9 June
Following publication of the Adding Value manual on 23 May, the online checker is now open for you to apply. This £30 million fund offers grants focused on supporting farmers and growers to process, diversify and add value to their eligible agricultural products after they are harvested or reared. It offers grants of between £25,000 and …
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Farming Investment Fund – new slurry infrastructure grants coming in autumn 2022
Today we’re announcing more details about the new slurry storage grants that we will be launching later this year, as part of the Farming Investment Fund. This post gives extra context to the information published today on GOV.UK. We explain what the new grant offers, how to apply and what to look out for over …
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A farewell to Sue Winfield – Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Tyne and Wear
Sue Winfield has been Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Tyne and Wear for the past 8 years, but as of this month Sue is stepping down as she reaches her 75th birthday.
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Defra Data Heroes: Meet the Information Appraisal Team
On International Archives Day we hear from Allison Wort, who leads Defra’s Information Appraisal Team, on the work her team does to process, archive and dispose of many thousands of historic files and departmental records each year.
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Why should we build services using a design system?
Design systems are important in creating transparency, consistency and trust. Using design systems saves time and money. Find out more about why we use the NHS.UK and GOV.UK design systems.