GOV.UK blogs

The Nolan Principles - keeping the public front of mind

To mark 30 years of the Committee’s work, Prof. Mark Philp, Chair of CSPL’s Research Advisory Board, blogs on the continuing importance of the Nolan Principles in setting out the understanding between those in public office and the public. This blog is based on a longer academic paper.

Monitoring antimicrobial resistance in the environment

Microorganisms drive many of the biogeochemical processes that make the Earth habitable for people. These processes involve the movement and transformation of chemical elements and compounds between living organisms, the atmosphere, and the Earth's crust. However, some microorganisms can cause …

Shaun the Sheep: a visit to Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve

By Stephanie Wilson, Reserve Manager, Thames Solent Team at Natural England Here at Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve (NNR), conservation grazing is one of many management tools we use to look after the site. You could argue having a conservation …

Prudence, not popularity, is the key to UK NSC’s work, says Chris

Our latest UK NSC member profile focuses on Professor Chris Hyde.

Small and Micro Food Business Operator Tracking Survey: Wave 4 Findings

Cymraeg Today, we published wave 4 of the small and micro FBO (food business operator) tracking survey. The survey takes place every other year and tracks small and micro FBOs' views on a variety of topics, including trust in the …

Change NHS and the role of mental health social work

This week, the Department of Health and Social Care, in partnership with NHS England, launched the Change NHS campaign. This is the beginning of an ongoing conversation with the public as, together, our government and healthcare leaders seek the widest range of views possible to shape a new 10-Year Health Plan for England.

Funding Service: defining data standards for grant teams

Read about the work of MHCLG’s Funding Service to simplify the funding landscape by defining data standards for grant teams.

A new search engine for GOV.UK

We’ve launched a new site search engine for GOV.UK. Read about how it’s making it easier for users to find what they need.

Jacqui McIntosh talks to IfATE about representation in hair and beauty apprenticeships

This year, British Beauty Week coincides with Black History Month. The 2024 British Beauty Week theme is “a beauty industry that looks like you”, which highlights the importance of representation and inclusion in the beauty industry. IfATE is committed to …

The future of fish: Impacts of climate change on fish species diversity across marine food webs

Climate change is altering the distribution of many marine fish species, with widespread impacts on biodiversity, with the potential to jeopardise world food security. Most studies to date focus on how commercially exploited fish species will be affected by climate …

Employment Rights Bill is “pro-growth, pro-business and pro-worker”

The Employment Rights Bill returned to the House of Commons for its second reading yesterday (Monday 21 October). It continues to attract significant media attention, as shown by today’s front pages, which all lead on the bill’s impact assessment published …

The scale and cost of requisitions

A detailed look at the scale and cost of requisitions – and how we can work together to minimise the number raised.

Discover your local river and contribute to citizen science!

September was a fantastic month for bringing communities and stakeholders together in celebration of our rivers. There were events across the country as part of World Rivers Day on 22 September, seasonal mass monitoring of our rivers through national citizen …

Office for National Statistics: Statistics for the Public Good

To build public trust in our use of their data for statistics, everyone should know how their data is sourced, used, and how it’s kept safe.

How we’re protecting and enhancing biodiversity at DVLA

Our Sustainability and Environment Manager, Harry Harding, provides an update on how DVLA is promoting and protecting biodiversity across the agency.

My experience on the commissioning graduate programme at Sellafield Ltd

Anouschka,, one of our commissioning engineer graduates, tells us about her experience as a graduate at Sellafield Ltd.

Change NHS: your chance to make social care part of the conversation

This week, the Department of Health and Social Care, in partnership with NHS England, launches the biggest national conversation about the state of the NHS in its 76-year history. Social care voices invited!

New rules for fair milk contracts: supporting dairy producers 

The Fair Dealings Obligations (Milk) Regulations (FDOM24) set out how milk purchase contracts must operate. FDOM24 is designed to make these contracts fairer and more transparent across the dairy industry. In this guest post, Richard Thompson, the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA) shares an overview of his role and what to look for in your contact.

How GDS is supporting women in STEM

The Government Digital Service recently hosted three students from Next Tech Girls, a social enterprise that works with girls in education who are interested in a career in tech.

Navigating trade sanctions with guidance

At the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI), we recognise that trade can be a complex area, particularly when it comes to understanding and complying with trade sanctions.  Our goal is to equip UK businesses with up-to-date knowledge that enables …

RPC welcomes new Minister, Justin Madders MP, to committee meeting

The RPC was pleased to welcome Justin Madders MP, Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets at the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), to a recent meeting.

Measuring the geospatial ecosystem: innovation to quantify complexity

Karina Matjuhhina, Fast Stream Analyst, explores the UK's geospatial market, highlighting its economic, employment and investment impact.  Geospatial data describes where places, objects and people are in any given location. These data can be static such as the address of …

Ocean Country Partnership Programme in Sri Lanka - climate change, seafood and pollution updates.  

Authors: Peter Randall, Charlotte Reeve, Alessandra Bielli, Bryan-Goodsir Thompson, Kelly Bateman, Angharad Elliman Through the Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP), Sri Lanka and the UK are collaborating to tackle the three key challenges of marine biodiversity, marine pollution and sustainable …

Advances in flood forecasting - The Environment Agency / Met Office partnership in action

By Philip Duffy, Environment Agency CEO. This week is Flood Action Week, our annual media campaign to raise awareness about how everyone can take action to know their flood risk and prepare.   Today alongside Penny Endersby, Chief Executive of the …

OPSS Regulatory Leaders Graduate Scheme - Meet us at a University Careers Fair

Join Us at a University Careers Fair

Are you a student looking to kickstart your career with a dynamic and impactful role?

Come and meet us at the University careers fairs and learn more about our Regulatory Leaders Graduate Scheme.

Connected thinking across data communities

Last month's DataConnect, government's largest virtual data conference, brought together, the public sector data community, including: data leaders, academics, innovative thinkers, data scientists, data engineers, and AI specialists.

How Natural England is working with partners to improve rural flood resilience

By Brad Tooze, Director for Greener Farming and Fisheries People might be less familiar with how our projects and partnerships help improve flood resilience. In this National Flood Action Week (14-20 October), we wanted to outline some of our partnership …

Using data design to transform the planning application process: get involved

In order to make the planning applications process smoother and more efficient we need to ensure the right data is available, in the right format. In this post the Data Design team explain how they are now working to develop new data standards and are keen to collaborate with the planning community to create specifications that work for everyone.

Bedford Ouse Floating Pennywort Project

My name is Pippa Keynes and I work for the Environment Agency in East Anglia. Part of my job involves managing the Bedford Ouse Floating Pennywort project. This was launched by  Fisheries, biodiversity and geomorphology (FBG colleagues in 2017), and …

Evolving ACE – sharing the latest news and pipeline updates with our community

Evolving ACE – sharing the latest news and pipeline updates with our community  Our second community event of the year was held in London this week, drawing in almost 200 people in person and online.  Iain Wallace, head of market …

Black History Month UK 2024

As we move through October 2024, we once again celebrate Black History Month as a time dedicated to honouring the rich and diverse history, culture, and contributions of Black individuals and communities. This month serves as a powerful reminder of …

Microwaves on the Moon

An innovative UK project funded by the UK Space Agency is using microwave technology to help us build a sustainable presence on the Moon.

Stepping up maintenance to prepare for winter in Essex

David Simpson, from an Essex Field Team explains how Environment Agency preparations for winter begins well ahead of the long nights drawing in.  As the summer was winding down, the Environment Agency was already undertaking important winter readiness actions. It …

Empowering voters: behind the scenes of the Choose My PCC service 

Teams in MHCLG build and run digital services related to elections, including Apply for a photo ID to vote and Register to vote. In this post, the team behind one of the services – Choose My PCC – talks about the work that went into preparing the service for the latest Police (Fire) and Crime Commissioners (PCC) elections, what they learnt and what's next for the service.

Coverage of Environment Agency investigation at Lake Windermere 

Today we are looking at misleading coverage of BBC’s reporting on United Utilities’ permit breaches at Glebe Road Pumping Station, Lake Windermere.

Connecting climate science to local action: introducing the new Local Authority Climate Service 

In this post, Victoria Ramsey explains how the new Local Authority Climate Service can help local authorities to understand climate change in their area, support their decision making and climate planning adaptation.

I dare you to say IP a third time

Delve into the “Neitherworld” (the spooky ghost-filled domain from Beetlejuice) to learn about the role intellectual property (IP) has played in expanding the Beetlejuice universe.

How are we reducing the number of requisitions we send?

Find out more about the measures we’re taking to tackle requisitions at source.

What a content designer does in alpha

Kaitlin D'Avella explains what content designers do in the alpha stage of a project.

New changes for childminders coming soon

In May, we published a blog about the upcoming changes for childminders this autumn.   The Department for Education is now bringing in these changes on 1 November 2024 to give the early years sector (in particular childminders) more flexibility. These …