7854posts
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Speculative reporting on council tax rises
There has been media reporting that some local authorities will increase council tax because of the government's Fair Funding Review 2.0. The current, outdated way in which local authorities are funded means the link between funding and need for services …
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What are the symptoms of the chikungunya virus and is there a vaccine?
Chikungunya may not be a household name, but this mosquito-borne viral infection has become a significant concern for travellers to some destinations. The disease, whose name derives from the Kimakonde (a language of Southern Tanzania) word meaning ‘that which bends up’ due to the severe joint pain it causes, has spread across the globe in …
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24 hour 'bioblitz' at one of England's newest National Nature Reserves
By Karen Faux - Local Nature Recovery Senior at Natural England In July, over 50 Natural England staff and partners came together for a 24 hour species recording event (or ‘bioblitz’) on the recently declared North Kent Woods and Downs …
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Why public design is more important than ever
GDS reform expert, Alice Goldman, examines the value of public design to governments now.
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Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges: Reflections from the 2025 CVO AMR Forum
Tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) takes global collaboration. Our latest blog post reflects on the CVO AMR Forum at this year’s WOAH General Assembly.
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UK NSC publishes SMA screening evidence documents
The UK NSC has published a suite of documents relating to the review of evidence on newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy.
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UK NSC consults on extending the in-service evaluation of screening for SCID
The UK National Screening Committee has opened a consultation on a recommendation to continue the in-service evaluation of newborn screening for SCID in NHS services.
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Cattle farmers: join our webinar on funding for vet visits
On Tuesday 19 August, we will host a webinar specifically for cattle farmers to explain how they can access funding for an Animal Health and Welfare Review and the follow-up vet visit for endemic diseases. In this post, we share an overview of the webinar and a link to sign up.
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Bass FMP explained: goals, benefits and updates
Learn about the bass FMP, its goals, and latest updates through new infographics and video, from the MMO and RFGs.
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Getting the most from herbal leys within improved grassland systems
Herbal leys can offer real rewards for your livestock, soil and your bottom line while benefitting the environment, but success depends on careful planning, establishment and management. When herbal leys are used well, they can enhance your farm's sustainability. In …
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Leveraging data analysis tools for IT rollouts in DBT
How using data analysis made a major migration to Windows 11 quicker and easier to manage.
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Resident doctor strikes: everything you need to know
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced resident doctors strikes from July 25 to July 30. Here, we tell you everything you need to know about resident doctor strikes, including what patients need to know about their care in the event …
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Bringing Order to Complexity: My Journey as a Service Designer
As a service designer in the User Centred Design team at HMCTS, Juliette has always been fascinated by the challenge of making complex legal processes more accessible to everyone.
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Fairer supply chains: supporting the pig sector
The Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations 2025 (FDOP2025) will come into force from 13 August. FDOP2025 is designed to make contracts fairer and more transparent across the pig industry. In this guest post, Richard Thompson, the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA) shares an overview.
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UK Space Frontiers 2035: a strategic vision for the future of UK space science
The Frontiers programme, led by the UK Space Agency’s Chief Scientist Professor Adam Amara, sets out to define the UK’s long-term vision for space science, positioning the nation as a global leader in the field.
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Sale of allotment spaces
Recent media reporting has criticised the government for allowing councils to sell allotment spaces. Allotments are a valuable and important community resource, and there are strict criteria in place to protect them. These rules on sales of assets have been in …
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Standardising the planning application process: Kicking off work on decisions
Crucial planning decisions data is stored inconsistently across different local authority systems. We're now expanding our data specification work to standardise planning application decisions, creating consistent data flow throughout the system. Help shape this work to ensure it helps local authorities, central government, developers, and communities better understand how our places are changing.
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Building Bridges Between Prison and Civil Service Employment
In honour of National Opportunity Day on 7 August, we are celebrating efforts to create genuine, inclusive pathways to employment for all. Recently, we visited a prison and young offender institute to connect with women in custody and showcase the …
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When is results day 2025? GCSEs, A levels, T Levels and VTQs
In August, pupils in England will find out their results for GCSEs, A levels, T Levels and VTQ (vocational technical qualifications) exams. Ahead of results day, schools, colleges and assessment centres should contact pupils directly to tell them how and …
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Furthering collaboration on UK subsea infrastructure data
Calling UK government, Crown Dependency, Overseas Territory and private sector colleague participation A clear understanding of our Subsea National Infrastructure (SNI) is crucial to the UK, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories. Location-based data depicting SNI is important to a range …
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Call for views on trust services: we want to hear from you
Today we’ve published a call for views on the adoption of trust services. You can respond to the call for views on GOV.UK until the 20th of September 2025. What are trust services? Trust services are digital tools, such as …
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Reflections on Civil Service Live 2025
Suzy Robinson, Head of Delivery Management (interim), shares her experiences at Civil Service Live 2025 and what she's learned from attending Civil Service Live over the past few years.
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Beyond inspections: a vet student's insights into the VMD
A group of veterinary students recently completed an Extramural Studies placement at the VMD. One of the students, Mev, shared her experience of the placement.
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What our new Light Goods Vehicle strategy means for you
Over the next year, we will be using a new approach to improve compliance around light goods vehicles (LGVs) and their trailers. This means we’ll heavily concentrate on particular higher-risk sectors – working with them and focusing our roadside enforcement …
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At the Heart of Global Decisions: My WOAH General Session Experience
The end of May marked the 92nd WOAH General Session, and I had the pleasure of being invited as part of the UK delegation. It was my first time attending, and even for those who go every year, this one …
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Capital Grants offer now closed for new applications
This is a short post to let you know that we’ve now fully allocated all available funding for the 2025 round of Capital Grants. The next round of funding will be available in 2026.
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How does the benefits system influence young people’s choices?
The Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) exists to provide impartial advice to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the wider ministerial team on the social security system. As part of our independent work programme we have just …
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Beyond the clinic & out of the lab. A vet’s route to life ‘behind the scenes’ at the VMD
Jon Haycock is a Senior Veterinary Assessor at the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and shares his career path since graduation. Whilst writing this piece, I’ve come to realise that I clearly enjoy the immense variety that the veterinary profession has …
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Celebrating Women in Tech: A Powerful Collaboration Between DWP Digital and AWS
DWP Digital and AWS came together to host an empowering Women in Tech event in Manchester. The event paid tribute to the transformative role women have played in shaping society, the ongoing impact in the tech industry today, and their vital role in driving future innovation and change.
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Sustainable Farming Incentive Expanded Offer for 2024 (SFI 2024): understanding the annual declaration
This blog explains the annual declaration process for SFI 2024. For details of the annual declaration process for SFI 2023, please read the blog published on 13 August 2024. What is the annual declaration? The annual declaration is how you, …
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Happy holidays for you and your dog
By Steve Jenkinson, Access and Countryside Advisor to the Kennel Club I travel all over England with my dog Teal, working for the Kennel Club and Natural England to make great places for people and nature – and that includes …
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Dragons Den IP Blog - Series 22 Episode 9
As a new episode of Dragons’ Den graced our TV screens this evening, I was excited to see what intellectual property (IP) was in store for us. Thankfully it didn’t disappoint! The episode was absolutely packed with innovative businesses and creative entrepreneurs, but it was one pitch in particular that really caught my attention and …
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Help shape the future of brown crab fishing in the South West
Crab fishers—have your say. Survey opens on new size rules for brown crab in the South West. Closes 17 August.
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How do we use AI as a partner in our work?
From text-based models to generative platforms, AI is infiltrating all areas of work. Here, we explore different models and uses, and talk about how we use them at Design102, including the new GCS Assist tool.
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The launch of the Digital Business Growth Service and business.gov.uk: helping businesses start and scale
How DDaT built 2 new personalised services for UK businesses and how they meet government ambitions.
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Building a shared understanding of services
Lucy Hartley, Head of Service Strategy, Ownership and Performance, and Lisa Jeffery, Design Manager, reflect on the work being done to build a shared understanding of services within Defra’s Digital, Data, Technology and Security teams.
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Justice Connected: Inside Common Platform
Discover how Common Platform is joining the dots in criminal justice. In this podcast, we explore how this unified digital system is making information more accessible, improving collaboration, and modernising the court process for everyone involved in a case.
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King scallop FMP explained: goals, benefits and updates
Learn about the King scallop FMP, its goals, and latest updates through new infographics and video from the MMO and RFGs.
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Why we haven’t provided a gap analysis for beta to gamma uplifts
We’ve been asked variously for some kind of document with a gap analysis or assimilation matrix. We don't have one. This is why.
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Restraint and restrictive practices: positive environments for children
In this blog, I want to talk to providers of children’s homes, residential special schools and boarding schools about what we’re currently seeing on inspection when it comes to restraint and restrictive practices. I want to emphasise how important it …