GOV.UK blogs

Whooping cough: One mother's story of love, loss and action

Whooping cough cases (also known as the '100 day cough') are rising sharply across England. Between January and March 2024 there have sadly been 5 infant deaths. Vaccination is the best protection.
In this blog post, Catherine Hughes, Founding Director at The Immunisation Foundation of Australia, shares the story of her son Riley Hughes and how their family lost Riley to Whooping cough (pertussis)

Behind the scenes of justice – my experience as a juror

As we near the end of Juror Appreciation Week we hear from Jemima, who recently served on a jury. She explains more about her experience and how she saw justice in action outside of her normal day job.

Bluetongue virus risk set out for the year ahead

This week, the Animal and Plant Health Agency published its latest risk assessment of bluetongue virus entering Great Britain during 2024. It confirmed a very high probability of a new introduction of bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3) into GB livestock …

Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation Scheme expects to enable around 3,700 homes and help nature recovery in Dorset

In October last year we provided reassurance that Natural England will not only continue to deliver the Nutrient Mitigation Scheme but seek to accelerate and widen it. That hard work has brought us to our next major milestone – launching …

Changes to permitted development rights

We want to make it easier for farmers to strengthen their businesses. To that end, several changes to permitted development rights are coming into effect from 21 May.  

Keeping pupils active to support their wellbeing

CEO of The Consortium Trust, Andrew Aalders-Dunthorne shares insight about the Trust’s active and outdoor based curriculum.

Working in partnership to enhance approaches to surface water risk management

In recent years, record rainfall events nationally and internationally have served to underline the threat of surface water flooding, particularly to our cities and urban areas, writes Caroline Douglass, Environment Agency Executive Director of Flood and Coastal Risk Management. Examples …

Missing the Point(er)

Email security policy for the UK Government has been fairly consistent for a while, so we were pleased when Google and Yahoo decided to tighten their email authentication requirements that align closely to our own guidance. One element that stands …

Coverage of Defra’s Response to Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain

There has been widespread media coverage following our announcement of new measures to address labour shortages in the food supply chain.

The news was reported by publications including The Telegraph, Farmers Guardian, Farmers Weekly, Horticulture Week, The Grocer and Farming UK.

Inaccurate claims in the OEP Report reviewing the implementation of River Basin Management Planning in England

Today the Office for Environmental Protection published a report on legal targets to improve water health.  

The report claims that report claims that “the EA has calculated a cost of £51 billion to achieve the targets… but there is only confirmed funding of £6.2 billion up to 2027”. 

This is incorrect. In October 2023, the water industry announced a planned £96 billion of investment between 2025 and 2030 to deliver significant environmental improvements, including tackling nutrient pollution and reducing the use of storm overflows. Ofwat is currently considering these proposals.

Les Allamby's early reflections of SSAC...the second time around!

I never had a misspent youth. As a student I spent my Saturday mornings volunteering on a Durham market stall containing (then) DHSS[1] leaflets, answering basic queries and offering appointments for more complex issues. Not knowing what I wanted to …

Reflections from the peatland restoration season

England's peatlands are our largest terrestrial carbon store and a haven for rare wildlife. Here's how projects across the country are working to restore them.

UK NSC endorses modification to antenatal screening offered for Edwards’ syndrome

UK NSC recommends addition of quadruple test to the antenatal screening pathway for Edwards' syndrome.

The EA-funded farm group bringing people together to improve sustainability

The Environment Agency (EA) have funded a project to engage and work with farmers in the Upper Roding Catchment. We’ve worked in collaboration with the project lead, environmental charity Thames21, and the Roding, Beam and Ingrebourne (RBI) Catchment Partnership to …

Coverage of Bluetongue virus risk

  There has been widespread coverage of our announcement that there is a very high probability of a new introduction of bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3) into livestock in Great Britain this year. This was reported by publications including BBC …

Meteor showers and the Milky Way: the UK night sky in May 2024

May is a great time to see meteors, the star-dense core of our Milky Way galaxy, the spectacular Noctilucent Clouds and several galaxies hidden in the spring constellations.

Marie Hardeman’s site visit to a Lancashire farm

In the first of a series of blogs from Customer Director, Marie Hardeman on her visits to shows, farms and projects, Marie writes about her time at a farm in Lancashire, with RPA field officers on a sheep identification site …

Single-sex toilets announcement coverage

There was widespread coverage earlier this week of the laying of a law to require every new, non-residential building to have single-sex toilets, as well as a fully enclosed universal toilet if space allows. This means amending building regulations so …

Transforming for a Digital Future - latest update

For the past two years, teams across government have been making great strides in digital delivery, harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and fixing the foundations of data and legacy that will enable us to transform at scale...

Meet the Modern Civil Service: Neil Couling

Neil Couling, DWP Change and Resilience Director General and Senior Responsible Owner Universal Credit,  spoke with Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe from the Modernisation and Reform Unit about what A Modern Civil Service means to him, as well as how he sees reform …

Council Tax band deletions: renovations and repairs

In the second part of our Council Tax band deletion series, we explain the difference between major renovation and normal repairs.

What is UKHSA doing about antibiotic resistance?

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when medicines used to fight infections lose their effectiveness because the organisms they target – whether bacteria, fungi, viruses or parasites – have evolved or acquired adaptations to survive. In 2019, AMR was directly responsible for …

Coverage of Thames Barrier celebrating 40 years protecting London

Today we are looking at coverage marking 40 years of the Thames Barrier protecting London and the Thames Estuary

We Are Strategic Command with Jan Flitcroft

Jan Flitcroft, a Dental Nurse at Strategic Command, shares her journey from a Foods Manager to Dental Nurse in the Defence Medical Services and her passion for teaching. Interviewer: Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your role? Jan: …

Breaking barriers: School’s drive to close the attainment gap using tutoring

Executive headteacher at The Green Way Academy, Simon Bush, shares his experience of using the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) to support disadvantaged pupils during the school holidays.

Summer 2024 exams are starting

Students across the country are getting ready to take their exams and assessments, making sure they’re ready to show the knowledge, skills and understanding that they have gained over the course of their studies.   We all have an important part …

A user-centred approach to renaming a service

Ruth and James share 6 step by step tips for a user-centred approach to renaming your service.

Operation Angola – we need your help

Emma Viner, Enforcement and Investigations Manager, writes about just one of the many waste crime investigations the Environment Agency is dealing with. Waste crime is a major issue across the country which is often not fully understood. The Environmental Services …

'Don't let perfection be the enemy of good'

In this latest Government Digital Sustainability Alliance (GDSA) update, members of the scope 3 emissions working group outline what scope 3 emissions are, they reflect on their panel discussion at the recent GDSA summit and look forward to next steps for the group.

Innovating Interchange: STEM Futures Partner event

  STEM Futures is a knowledge-exchange scheme which brings together cross-sector partners to develop science-skills capability. In March 2024, we hosted the first STEM Futures Innovating Interchange event, focusing on developing capability through cross-sector knowledge exchange.  It was fantastic to see …

Asking for guidance part 2: The case of the vexing restrictions

In our second case study, unusual restrictions create a conveyancing conundrum.

Why it is important to report possible Colorado beetle sightings to APHA

For the first time in the UK since 1977, Colorado beetle was confirmed in a potato crop in Kent in July last year. If not eradicated, Colorado beetle pose a major threat to potato crops. Discover what APHA are doing in response and how you can help.

How we’re growing our community of ‘low coders’

Di Washbrook explains how reading a Defra blog inspired her to take her own interest in low-code developing even further by joining the Defra Power Platform team.

Scottish Prevent duty guidance factsheet

What is the Prevent duty?  The Prevent duty was established by the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 and places a duty on specified authorities such as education, health, local authorities, police and criminal justice agencies (prisons and probation) to have …

Why Community Payback Rapid Deployment teams are expanding nationwide

Rapid Deployment teams are Community Payback teams who are given a 48-hour window to complete a project referred to them by a local council and nominated by members of the public. Last year, Rapid Deployment teams were piloted across the …

Single Service Owners: bridging the gaps to make ‘Great’ services

A key part of ensuring our services are the best they can be and delivered at the lowest cost is ownership of the end-to-end journey. Find out more about why single-service ownership, what it is and what's next in the latest CDDO blog.

The importance of listening: Dr Suzy Walton reflects on her new role with SSAC

“If at first you don’t succeed…” I first applied to join the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) just after my 6th child was born. I was previously a Senior Civil Servant in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit and worked on …

Understanding the jury selection process

Jury trials are a critical part of the justice system and date back hundreds of years. But how exactly are people selected for the process, and what happens when they are called to serve? Our latest blog explains more.

National Plant Health Week: extreme weather and plant pests

It's National Plant Health Week. Today we look at the impact of climate change, with its increasingly extreme weather, on plant health.

New Transforming Public Procurement (TPP) e-learning for procurement practitioners in schools and multi-academy trusts

Kevin Draisey, Head of Procurement Operations for Get help buying for schools, updates on the new Transforming Public Procurement (TPP) e-learning now available for procurement practitioners in schools and multi-academy trusts.