Patrick Vallance becomes Government chief scientific adviser
Dr Patrick Vallance has taken up the role of Government chief scientific adviser, in which he will lead on providing advice on all matters related to science and technology. The role also involves being head of the Government science and engineering profession and co-chair of the independent Council for Science and Technology.
He comes to the position from a six-year stint as president for R&D at GlaxoSmithKline.
Vallance said: “Science and technology have a vital role to play at the heart of policy making and I look forward to working with colleagues to ensure the government has the best possible advice, from the best experts, based on the strongest evidence.”
Harrogate Council tops digital governance survey
Harrogate Borough Council has been identified as a leader in digital governance for local government after coming first in the latest Sitemorse quarterly index. It reviews websites based on their optimisation, user experience, compliance and factors such as loading speed and accessibility.
The council scored 9.5 out of 10, followed by North Devon with 8.9, Scottish Borders (8.8), North Warwickshire (8.7) and Scarborough and Orkney Islands (both 8.6).
Stoke-on-Trent City Council was the most improved in the field, increasing its score by 1.96 to 6.2 and climbing 209 places on the list.
Nesta announces Good Help Award
Innovation foundation Nesta has launched a competition with a £15,000 prize for ‘good help’ programmes with the potential to transform public services. It will recognise teams or organisations that are taking a creative approach to helping people manage and overcome a range of issues, including long term health problems, homelessness and unemployment.
They will be judged by professionals from a number of organisations, with the deadline for entries being 18 May and the winners to be announced on 13 September.
