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©UKauthorITy.com 2008


20/08/2008 e_gov	IDeA and Intelligent Addressing Conference Programme IDeA and Intelligent Addressing have announced the programme for their free of charge one-day conference ‘Underpinning Transformational Government – everything happens somewhere’ to be held at the Birmingham ICC on the 16th October 2008.

15/08/2008 general	Local Government IT in Use - July/August 2008 issue The latest issue of LGITU is now available on UKauthorITy.com - download the entire magazine or read individual features/sections of the publication.

15/08/2008 e_gov	Buying sustainable government and then turning it off Cabinet Office minister, Tom Watson MP, has been appointed to take the lead on improving the way government can achieve sustainable operations and procurement objectives across departments.

13/08/2008 local_egov	Local Government IT Excellence Awards 2008 - entry deadline extended The deadline for submitting an entry to the prestigious Intellect, Socitm and SOLACE Local Government IT Excellence Awards has been extended to 5pm, Tuesday 19 August.

01/08/2008 e_gov	YouTube used for top council job A council leader in Norfolk is advertising for a new chief executive - by going on YouTube.

31/07/2008 e_gov	Parliamentarians have a vital role to play in transformational government The parliamentary IT interest group, Eurim, says that Select Committees should take an active role in the governance of Transformational Government policy.

30/07/2008 e_gov	Grants for IT ideas to get people involved in democracy Fresh ideas for encouraging people to become involved in democracy will be rewarded with grants under a Ł150,000 government scheme aimed at charities, community groups and non-government organisations.

28/07/2008 e_gov	New interactive local crime maps in every area Every neighbourhood in England and Wales will have access to the latest local crime information through new interactive crime maps.

25/07/2008 local_egov	Wales opts for electronic planning Further development of the Planning Portal in Wales, including supporting rolling out an electronic bilingual standard application form for use by everyone who applies for planning permission in any planning authority in Wales, is announced.

25/07/2008 e_gov	Government supports e-petitions for Commons The government, in a written statement to the House of Commons, has given its support to e-petitions.

24/07/2008 e_gov	One-stop shop for adapting to climate impacts Climate Change minister, Joan Ruddock, has called on councils to develop imaginative and innovative approaches to deal with the impact of a changing climate.

22/07/2008 e_gov	Old criminal convictions data to be deleted Five police forces have been ordered to delete old criminal convictions from the Police National Computer.

21/07/2008 e_gov	Auction set to deliver significant savings OGCbuying.solutions is taking part in an eAuction by reverse auctioning a requirement for 5,000 laptops and 5,000 desktop PCs.

21/07/2008 e_gov	Electoral Commission publishes registration standards The Electoral Commission has published performance standards for Electoral Registration Officers in England, Wales and Scotland.

18/07/2008 local_egov	Reducing avoidable contact - guidance on NI 14 IDeA has produced new guidance for local authorities on reducing avoidable contact with people.

17/07/2008 e_gov	Transformational government brings improvements Light shone on transformational government progress as report says transformational government is enhancing service delivery.

17/07/2008 e_gov	Government wants computers to go green The government says it plans to slash the carbon footprint of its computer systems.

17/07/2008 e_gov	Hedra report identifies need for change management in social care Local authorities must urgently apply change management thinking to social care transformation.

16/07/2008 e_gov	A communications database would be a step too far Any government run database holding the telephone and internet communications of the entire population would raise serious data protection concerns, warns information commissioner.

11/07/2008 e_gov	UK is a world leader in outsourced public services The contribution of outsourced public services to the UK economy has grown 130 percent since 1995 according to a report on the Review of the Public Services Industry.

11/07/2008 e_gov	Calls for tougher rules on data sharing Councils should be banned from selling edited versions of the electoral rolls, a government report on the use of personal data has stated.

09/07/2008 e_gov	Northern Ireland opts for data sharing Northern Ireland finance minister, Nigel Dodds, has published plans to introduce data sharing legislation as part of a strategy to improve the take-up of rate reliefs.

08/07/2008 e_gov	Ageist campaign goes online A Scottish Government campaign to stamp out age-related discrimination is going online.

08/07/2008 e_gov	Better management needed to tackle benefit fraud Department of Work and Pensions has been slow to introduce technology to tackle benefit fraud.

08/07/2008 e_gov	UK Statistics Authority launches consultation on a new code of practice The UK Statistics Authority has launched a consultation on a new Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

07/07/2008 e_gov	Get recognition for excellence in data protection The Information Commissioner's Office wants councils to seek recognition for good data protection practices by applying for a prestigious European award.

07/07/2008 e_gov	E-culture changes monologue to dialogue Electronic communication is changing the culture surrounding planning applications.

02/07/2008 e_gov	Doubts cast on reliability of London election results There is insufficient evidence to state reliably whether the results declared in the May 2008 elections for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly are an accurate representation of voters’ intentions.

01/07/2008 local_egov	Councils must act to prevent skills crisis Fast-moving technology and innovation are changing the skills required to provide many local services, and councils need to reflect social diversity with increasingly diverse workforces.

01/07/2008 local_egov	Hillingdon comes good in communications The London Borough of Hillingdon has won four prestigious national awards at the Good Communications Awards 2008, including the top award of Local Authority of the Year.

01/07/2008 e_gov	Scotland moves to extend freedom legislation The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act could be extended to cover more organisations.

30/06/2008 local_egov	2008 NLPG and NSG Exemplar Awards open for entry IDeA and Intelligent Addressing are inviting entries to the 2008 National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) and National Street Gazetteer (NSG) awards.

27/06/2008 e_gov	Prime minister sets out his vision for world-class public services The prime minister has outlined his vision for transforming England's public services.

27/06/2008 e_gov	Government strategy to empower citizens must change or fail If the government’s community empowerment strategy doesn’t change, the disconnection between citizens and government will only get worse.

26/06/2008 e_gov	Election registers must support new data standards Improvements in the quality of electoral registers are being made possible by the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG).

26/06/2008 e_gov	Data losses sting government into action The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has found that the processes for data handling were woefully inadequate at HM Revenue & Customs' Child Benefit Office in Washington, where a disk with the details of millions of people went astray.

25/06/2008 e_gov	Which MP has the best website? The hunt is on again for the best MP website and the British computer Society is inviting the public to tell them and their MPs what they think.

25/06/2008 e_gov	Online voting moves to the fore A consultation has been launched into the benefits of online voting.

24/06/2008 local_egov	Local Government IT Excellence Awards 2008 - call for entries Intellect, the trade association for the UK technology industry, is inviting all local authorities that have implemented an innovative and effective IT-based solution to blow their own trumpets.

24/06/2008 e_gov	Alarm at government's handling of road survey data Top council managers are urging highways officers across the country to take control of the national road maintenance condition survey.

24/06/2008 e_gov	Former Logica chief appointed to government job The government has appointed Logica’s former chief executive to head up the public sector's Ł13bn annual spend on IT.

24/06/2008 e_gov	Action plan to implement Byron recommendations Government acts on internet safety report as it says it will deliver all of the recommendations as set by Dr Bryon’s ‘Safer Children in a Digital World’.

23/06/2008 e_gov	Use of CCTV cameras questioned Local authorities have been told to stop using controversial surveillance powers for trivial offences like littering and dog fouling.

20/06/2008 local_egov	Website offers opportunities in social care Gateshead Council has launched its own website specifically for people looking for employment in social care.

20/06/2008 local_egov	Welsh digital inclusion minister sees Liverpool communities getting connected Welsh Assembly digital inclusion minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, visited Liverpool and St Helens to see how the Greater Merseyside Digital Development Agency is making IT facilities more accessible to local communities.

20/06/2008 e_gov	Partnership working is paying off Public Private Partnerships are helping local authorities to deliver much needed investment in local services.

19/06/2008 e_gov	New model contract for public sector ICT procurement The Office of Government Commerce has announced a new version of the free Information Communication Technology model contract.

18/06/2008 local_egov	Healey urges councils to spend tax efficiently Local government minister, John Healey, has praised councils on improving the amount of council tax collected for the eighth successive year.

18/06/2008 local_egov	Ads the way to do it Lincolnshire County Council is selling space on its website to advertisers.

16/06/2008 e_gov	Action plan to tackle security breaches linked to software problems New research calls for IT’s professional bodies – such as the British Computer Society and the Institution of Engineering & Technology - to include secure software development in their academic accreditation and professional registration programmes, and pay more attention to software development.

09/06/2008 e_gov	Congestion charge for Manchester Greater Manchester is set to be given the go ahead for a congestion charging scheme under which drivers could be required to pay up to five pounds to enter the city centre.

09/06/2008 e_gov	Britain edging towards surveillance society A committee of MPs has called for new limits on the amount of data stored on the country's citizens, saying we are danger of becoming a surveillance society.

06/06/2008 general	Local Government IT in Use - May/June 2008 issue The latest issue of LGITU is now available on UKauthorITy.com - download the entire magazine or read individual features/sections of the publication.

04/06/2008 e_gov	New web based guidance - published today - to speed up plan making process The government's CLG has been working with the Planning Advisory Service at the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) to publish online guidance for councils producing their Local Development Framework.

03/06/2008 local_egov	ICO calls time on unnecessary secrecy Local authorities asked to come clean on secrets and release more official information.

03/06/2008 e_gov	So how good is Scotland's public sector? A new website will enable the people of Scotland to see – at a glance - how the public sector is performing.

03/06/2008 e_gov	A year of missed government objectives for civil servants Two thirds of civil servants believe they will fail to meet government-set objectives this year.

02/06/2008 e_gov	Easy access to public services across the EU The European Commission has unveiled a pilot project to ensure cross-border recognition of national electronic identity (eID) systems and enable easy access to public services in 13 Member States.

02/06/2008 e_gov	Public sector not tailored to people's needs UK marketers rate the government and NHS as the least able multi-channel marketers.

29/05/2008	Shared services offers big prizes There are big prizes, and vast potential, from shared services but it requires local and central government to work together.

27/05/2008 e_gov	Courts welcome installation of Wi-Fi Most Crown and Combined courts across England and Wales will now have Wi-Fi facilities.

27/05/2008 e_gov	Twenty-seven police authorities given hand-held computers Details of a Ł50m scheme to provide police forces with 10,000 hand-held computers have been unveiled but the police want more.

21/05/2008 e_gov	Website to get kids' views on play The government has launched an interactive website to encourage children to give their views on play and play areas.

21/05/2008 e_gov	Solihull community plugs into free internet over power lines Council tenants in multi-storey housing blocks in north Solihull are to receive free or subsidised broadband.

21/05/2008 e_gov	Online services help speed planning decisions The use of online services has helped the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) hit 25 percent more of its key performance targets in 2007-08.

21/05/2008 e_gov	Computer technology finds council benefit fraud Record levels of benefit fraud have been detected by a local government watchdog using computer technology.

16/05/2008 e_gov	The National Programme for IT in the NHS is proving to be an enormous challenge. The roll out of the programme is four years behind schedule and some of it is unattainable, finds the government’s spending watchdog.

14/05/2008 e_gov	Barriers to innovation in public sector There are clear barriers which prevent white collar public sector employees from bringing innovative ideas to life on a day-to-day basis – crucial to the public sector’s requirement to deliver more with fewer resources - finds research from Adobe.

14/05/2008 local_egov	IT is the major constraint in the effective implementation of flexible working within councils IT is ranked first in the list of perceived constraints in WiseWork’s 2008 survey compared to fourth in 2006, ahead of manager’s attitudes and skills

14/05/2008 e_gov	ICT key to energy saving The European Commission has announced that it would promote the use of ICT to improve energy efficiency throughout the economy, starting with buildings, lighting and the power grid.

13/05/2008 e_gov	New powers to fine organisations for data breaches The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act has received Royal Assent creating tough new sanctions for the privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office.

09/05/2008 local_egov	Moving staff promised protection The government has promised that IT staff and other employees moving to new unitary authorities will have their employment rights protected.

08/05/2008 local_egov	Local authority testing of lie detectors rolls out There will be funding for a further 15 local authority pilot projects to test an innovative lie detector technology to catch out benefit fraudsters

08/05/2008 e_gov	Evidence of shared savings built on shaky foundations, claims committee of MPs

07/05/2008 e_gov	City of London scoops European award A pioneering project to boost customer service in the City of London has been given European recognition.

07/05/2008 local_egov	Clicking on and Going Green English councils are encouraging people to Go Green today by supporting Communities and Local Government’s ‘Connect to Your Council’ day.

06/05/2008 e_gov	New Multi Area Agreement Forum announced The New Local Government Network think tank has announced the formation of a new forum for local authority Multi Area Agreements.

06/05/2008 e_gov	Innovator of the Year award for Hillingdon Steve Palmer, Head of ICT at the London Borough of Hillingdon, was named as Public Sector Innovator of the Year at the UK Technology Innovation and Growth Awards.

06/05/2008 e_gov	Clampdown on election fraud could backfire on British democracy Short-term tactics could lead to counterproductive fall in voter turn-out and fail to address the root-causes of fraud, it is claimed in response to Rowntree report.

02/05/2008 local_egov	NLPG - the definitive address The NLPG has launched the first complete list of property addresses available for England and Wales since the Domesday Book.

01/05/2008 e_gov	Public sector employers must revolutionise online strategies for recruitment Online channels must become the fundamental tool for public sector employers to win the recruitment war for talent.

29/04/2008 e_gov	Improving disposals of public sector ICT The public sector is missing out on cash by dumping old IT equipment long after it has ceased to have any value.

29/04/2008 e_gov	Public sector relying on bulldog spirit to cope with an IT disaster A cocktail of complacency and resilience a dangerous mix as public sector organisations fail to prepare for crisis.

29/04/2008 e_gov	MPs criticise government websites The government’s website services could be vastly improved, it is claimed.

28/04/2008 e_gov	Birmingham goes interactive with online results Birmingham City Council will provide live screening of this week’s election results.

28/04/2008 e_gov	Local elections vulnerable to fraud Electronic and postal voting systems are actually risking the integrity of the electoral process, a report by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust claims.

25/04/2008 local_egov	Richard Steel confirmed as Socitm President Richard Steel, chief information officer at the London Borough of Newham, has been confirmed as president of Socitm

25/04/2008 local_egov	Gateway moves to DWP A range of services that customers and businesses alike can access electronically has now moved to the DWP.

22/04/2008 e_gov	Roll call of data breaches grows Public sector told to regain public’s trust by keeping data safe.

22/04/2008 e_gov	Europe's governments turn to the net Europe's governments are going online as 60 percent of public services in the EU are fully available via the internet.

20/8/2008