8177posts
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How the Environment Agency uses data to protect our water resources in a changing climate
After spending almost 20 years collecting data in the West Midlands to respond to climate change challenges, like flooding and drought, I still love the job I do as much as when I first got called to interview for the Environment Agency.
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‘Behind the Scenes’ at the Forestry Commission: Managing Ips typographus….. five years on
Ips typographus was first identified in the UK in 2018. Since then multiple teams at the Forestry Commission, Forest Research and Defra have been working together to manage this invasive pest. Here's how.
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A new home for National Infrastructure Planning
Oliver Blower is leading the improvements to the Inspectorate’s Applications Service. In this post he explains the developments being made to the online service for nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs).
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DIAG presents Biology Week
The 16 to 20 October marks the Royal Society of Biology’s (RSB) Biology Week, which aims to celebrate and raise the profile of the innovative work that bio-scientists across the world are doing every day to overcome some of our …
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Engineering the future
Meet Daniel Gilmore, a chartered engineer at Sellafield. who tells us why the nuclear industry is the perfect choice for those looking for a career in engineering.
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Off-site BNG: what can you do after 30 years?
If you’re planning to sell off-site biodiversity units for mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) you will need to commit to managing the habitat for 30 years. The habitat works will need to be legally secured through either a s106 agreement …
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Transformation II: spotlight on trade marks, designs and tribunals
It’s been more than two years since we launched our five-year ‘One IPO Transformation’ programme. Following the launch of our second consultation, Transformation II, we asked IPO Transformation lead, Natasha Chick, for an update.
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How we’re helping look after the mental health of children and young people
Schools and colleges play an important role in promoting and supporting the positive mental health and wellbeing of pupils and students. To help those working with children understand the bigger picture when it comes to children’s wellbeing, we’ve published our …
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Choice and control in the adult social care sector
In the last ten years, landmark legislation and policy frameworks have sought to create social care systems which are more person-centred and support individuals to have greater choice and control. Find out about IMPACT's work turning the evidence of this into action.
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Black History Month 2023: Saluting Our Sisters
October is Black History Month, and across the Defra Group we are celebrating the twin themes of ‘Eliminating prejudice is everyone’s business’ and ‘Saluting Our Sisters’- honouring the achievements of Black women. Black History Month is a time to celebrate …
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Our friends in the north: UK NSC hosts annual Nordic Screening Network meeting
The UK NSC hosted the annual meeting of the Nordic Screening Network, sharing learning with screening colleagues from Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
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Chief Executive’s message to stakeholders - Food Fraud Working Group
Emily Miles, Chief Executive of the Food Standards Agency shares the latest from the Food Fraud Working Group, including a new freephone number to report food crime - 0800 028 11 80.
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Ken's career journey
Throughout October we will be covering Black History Month, sharing stories from those inside the HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). We spoke to HMP Whitemoor’s Kenneth 'Ken' Tangie about his career journey with HMPPS. Ken taught French and English …
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The value of international collaboration: my reflections on meeting fellow Chief Veterinary Officers in Asia
As the United Kingdom’s Chief Veterinary Officer, I recently had the pleasure of representing the UK overseas and collaborating with our international partners, including fellow CVOs from across the G7 group of nations (pictured). On this trip I was joined …
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Maximising safe public access on Salisbury Plain Training Area
Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA) is the UK’s largest military training area, covering 11% of Wiltshire and a small part of Hampshire. Ensuring the fine balance between providing a place for our Armed Forces to train safely and maintaining public …
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Companies selected for next stage of nuclear energy competition
Great British Nuclear has announced that six organisations have had their Small Modular Reactor designs selected to progress to the next stage of a nuclear energy competition. In our latest blog post, we will explore the designs that have been proposed.
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New Entrant Support Scheme pilots: our initial findings
Earlier this year, I shared an update on the New Entrant Support scheme pilots. In the post, I included portraits of our participants. Since the pilots finished in May, we have been busy evaluating them using participant surveys, interviews and reports from the pilot leaders. With close to 200 pilot participants, there was a lot of valuable …
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Celebrating 25 years of BCMS with Terry Gadd
Terry Gadd, RPA lead for livestock and trader scheme related services, is responsible for the operation of the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS), the RPA’s specialised cattle tracing organisation, which is celebrating 25 years of operation. In this blog he …
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5 reasons to vaccinate your under-5s against flu
Flu season is just around the corner, and now is the time to get protected. If you are a parent of eligible pre-schoolers, make sure that you book your child in with their GP practice for the nasal spray that …
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Guardian article on road runoff
An article published in the Guardian today covering road pollution has said there is no monitoring by regulators of thousands of outfalls and soakaways on the country’s road network, and that the scale of the impact for the wildlife the …
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Transforming for a Digital Future - one year update (part 2)
A year on from the launch of the Transforming for a Digital Future strategy, Sam Lawler, Deputy Director, Strategy, Analysis and Reform at CDDO shares a second blog on how government is undertaking digital transformation and the progress made so far.
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Celebrating 25 years of the British Cattle Movement Service
It’s 25 years since the formation of the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS), which is responsible for maintaining the central online database of all bovine animals in Great Britain. This is the Cattle Tracing System, which animal keepers use to …
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Geodiversity is for everyone – International Geodiversity Day 2023
Jonathan Larwood, Natural England Principal Geodiversity Adviser, celebrates the second ever International Geodiversity Day and its theme of ‘Geodiversity is for everyone’. International Geodiversity Day is an annual global celebration, supported by UNESCO, of all aspects of geodiversity. This year’s …
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Irreplaceable habitats and BNG: what you need to know
Ahead of mandatory BNG, we are confirming that the initial list of irreplaceable habitats for biodiversity net gain (BNG) purposes will broadly mirror the list of examples already within the National Planning Policy Framework. This will be followed by a …
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A month of meteors and a lunar eclipse: the night sky in October
October’s night skies feature a partial lunar eclipse, two meteor showers and a great opportunity to see the gas giant planets of our Solar System, Jupiter and Saturn.
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Navigating Microsoft 365 guidance for UK government digital, data and technology professionals
In an unprecedented age where secure and efficient collaboration is paramount, the Central Digital and Data Office has taken a significant stride forward by collaborating with Microsoft and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to develop comprehensive guidance for the …
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The Adult Social Care Technology Fund: bid update
Shantelle Million-Lawson leads the digital transformation workstream within the Digitising Social Care team, where her role includes the rollout of our adult social care technology fund. Prior to joining the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) she worked in digital transformation for a residential care provider group. In this blog, Shantelle gives an update …
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Future directions for design and public policy
Professor Liz Richardson from University of Manchester reports on the discussion at the latest Design and Policy Network event.
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Water company customer complaints
The Consumer Council for Water has today published a report on the complaints made to water companies in England and Wales by households in 2022-23 and several media outlets including the Independent, Mirror, Sun, Telegraph and Guardian have covered it. …
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The Green Libraries Partnership
As referenced in our earlier blog, during Green Libraries Week, 2 to 8 October, Green Libraries Partnership are working with libraries across the UK to encourage library users and non-users of all ages to ‘Go Green at the library’. The …
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What we mean by digital
Defra Chief Digital Officer Chris Thorn explains how the work to develop a Digital Transformation Strategy for the Defra group of organisations is gaining momentum, due in part to a strong focus on seeing digital as a way of thinking rather than just a technology or a service.
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Spotlight on DDaT Webinars: Illuminating the World of Digital, Data, and Technology
The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) showcase their Spotlight webinars, where experienced practitioners share their insights, experience and expertise with those not working in digital, data or technology roles.
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People-Centred Policy Design: free five-part course now live on FutureLearn
Policy Lab and the Policy Profession have launched a new, free five-part course called People-Centred Policy Design, on FutureLearn. The course will help policy makers apply innovative, people-centred tools and methods. This course is for policy makers interested in integrating …
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Leopards and more: monitoring rare wildlife in Brunei’s jungle training areas
One interesting element of my job recently has been a study we’ve been working on in British Forces Brunei (BFB)’s jungle training areas to monitor whether training has any impact on the local wildlife. We’ve been working with the Brunei …
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Watch: SFI webinar for organic farmers
On 13 October, we held a webinar on the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for organic farmers and growers in partnership with the English Organic Forum. In this post, you'll find a link to a recording of the webinar.
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Dyslexia – a different way of thinking
The IPO has recently been proud to achieve the British Dyslexia Association SMART award, in recognition of good practice when supporting the needs of dyslexic and neuro-diverse individuals. Here we take a look at how colleagues with dyslexia are able to contribute positively to life and work at the IPO through their 'different way of …
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From our social media manager to yours: why implement a social media policy?
New guidance published by the Charity Commission makes it clear that charities who use social media should have a policy in place and ensure that it’s followed. But, when you’re busy in the day-to-day (creating and scheduling posts, researching new …
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How can School Resource Management Advisers (SRMAs) help you?
Lindsey Roberts, Engagement and Outreach Coordinator for the School Resource Management team, explains how the DfE's School Resource Management Adviser (SRMA) programme can support you with managing your school or academy trust’s finances or resources.
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RPA Annual Report and Accounts 2022-2023
If you’ve not already seen it, check out the RPA’s Annual Report and Accounts for 22-23 ‘Supporting the Rural Economy'. Paul Caldwell, RPA CEO said: 2022-23, was an eventful and successful year for the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). We faced …
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Reconnecting communities with nature through local libraries
In our increasingly fast-paced and urbanised world, the need to reconnect with nature has never been more pressing. Recognising this, Natural England and Libraries Connected have joined forces to launch the Culture Nature project, a ground-breaking initiative aimed at bridging …