GOV.UK blogs

Hundreds of prison leavers to be offered new technologies as part of the Prison Leavers Innovation Challenge

Through the Prison Leavers Innovation Challenge, we invited small businesses to develop digital technologies that could help offenders steer clear of crime after leaving prison. Here's a glimpse at two of the pilots that launched last month.

Some changes to the public sector digital accessibility regulations

The public sector digital accessibility regulations have changed. Find out more about what’s next for digital accessibility.

Resetting our rivers – how taking them back to ‘stage zero’ could help nurture nature

Matt Parr works in Lincolnshire’s Fisheries, Biodiversity and Geomorphology team and has been with the Environment Agency for 10 years. Here, he explains how he’s working to restore the glory of local rivers by resetting them to their natural state, …

Helping unpaid carers get vaccinated helps us all

With the winter upon us, it’s more important than ever to protect ourselves and those we care for against COVID-19 and flu and get vaccinated. But how do we increase take-up among unpaid carers, a critical and highly valued group of people? Emily Holzhausen OBE, Carers UK, considers what more we can all do.

Veterans get say in first official UK survey

The very first UK-wide official survey for veterans and their families is now under way. For another six weeks, veterans across the country can have their say and help to shape the future of veteran services. Funded and commissioned by …

Summer Interns - Communications, it’s not all digital

Introduction Every summer we welcome a number of students from diverse backgrounds into our Summer Diversity Internship Programme (SDIP) and this year, unlike for the last two years, we were able to meet them in person in our offices. This …

Watch: Sustainable farming in the Lake District

In this film, local farm facilitator Danny Teasdale explains how environmental improvements go hand in hand with food production in the Lake District.

Coverage of the Chief Medical Officer’s air pollution annual report

Today we are looking at media coverage of the Chief Medical Officer’s annual report on air pollution.

Better information about qualifications – what would help you?

You can share your views to help shape the future of qualifications information on Ofqual's Register.

An update on the first round of Landscape Recovery projects

In summer, we announced the 22 projects chosen for the first round of Landscape Recovery. We initially said we would recruit up to 15 projects, but we were so impressed with the quality of applications that we ended up extending this to 22. In this post, I’ll share more about the projects, including how they were assessed and selected.

Positive dementia care: a win for staff and residents

Looking for a meaningful career where you’ll be able to make a real difference to people’s lives every single day? Whether you’re new to care or you’ve got years of experience, this blog from a care home manager of homes specialising in dementia care is an inspiration.

#DIGITAL ASBESTOS

How surveillance sensitive are you? When it comes to public space surveillance it’s an important question if you happen to live in what is one of the world’s most watched democracies. And it’s even more important now that the government …

Sharing user-centred design lessons learnt at the Home Office

We’ve learnt a lot of lessons on how to build a successful user-centred design community. We want to share those with you.

Want to work with the Digital Markets Unit?

The digital markets are continuously growing and the Digital Markets Unit is looking for bright, inquisitive new individuals to join the team.

When is a clinical trial halt not a clinical trial halt?

As the regulator, the safety of those volunteering to participate in clinical trials is our first priority, and our oversight of trial conduct is informed by trial sponsors efficiently notifying us of safety issues during the conduct of their trial. …

OBR forecasts and trade remedies: what’s the link?

On 17 November the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) economic forecasts were released alongside the government’s Autumn Statement. The OBR – an executive and non-departmental public body – conducts independent analysis to assess whether the government is likely to meet …

New partnership-based approach to RPA site visits and mapping improvements: Round-up

During November we have published a series of blogs focussing on the RPA’s new partnership-based approach to site visits and the improvements made to RPA’s geospatial mapping process. You can find below a summary of the content with links to …

Improving how users search for local information on GOV.UK

We simplified our address finding system using the Ordnance Survey’s Places API. Here’s how we did it and the impact it’s had on GOV.UK and its users.

Strep A and scarlet fever – what are they and what are the symptoms? Information for parents, schools, colleges and early years providers

We are seeing an increased number of cases of Group A streptococcus (Strep A) compared to normal at this time of year. There is no evidence that a new strain is circulating and the increase is most likely related to …

What the Butler saw: Britain and the Abadan Crisis, 1950-51

In March 1962 a secret report landed on the desks of senior officials in the Foreign Office. Written by Foreign Office Historian Rohan Butler it was a forensic and critical account of the loss in 1951 of Britain’s single biggest …

Weevils to the rescue! How a beetle could help win the fight against invasive plants

  Trevor Renals is the senior technical advisor on invasive species for the Environment Agency. He started his career working on Japanese knotweed management in his native Cornwall, which led to an interest in biological control solutions, using co-evolved natural …

Inspecting the initial stages of the early career framework and national professional qualifications

Recruiting, training and retaining high-quality teachers and leaders is fundamentally important. It forms the foundation for giving pupils the very best experience in education. In March, we published our new framework for inspecting lead providers of the early career framework …

From Roadmap to Reality: Insights from Industry on Advancing AI Assurance

As set out in the Government’s National AI Strategy, the UK aims to establish the most trusted and pro-innovation system for AI governance in the world. A key component of getting this light-touch and pro-innovation governance right, is delivering on …

Volunteering: Part one - trees and canals

To mark international volunteering day, Defra’s user centred design (UCD) team talk about what inspired them to take part in volunteering days and how they went. This is our first instalment of a two-part blog on volunteering.

Food supply and food security

Today we are looking at media coverage of NFU comments on food supply and security.

In Conversation with Ben Holloway, Head of Data and Navy Applications

Ben Holloway, the head of Data and Navy Applications was asked to join the judging panel for the first pan-Defence Hackathon at RAF Henlow. Eighty people from the RAF, Army, Navy, Reserves and Civil Service worked together in cross-functional teams …

The Civil Service recruitment process, explained: part 2

Recruitment experts, hiring managers and new starters share their tips for technical assessments and overall success!

Apply for a Slurry Infrastructure grant

A fortnight ago, we made full guidance for the new Slurry Infrastructure grant available on GOV.UK.  I said I’d blog again when it was time to apply. I’m pleased to say that the first round is now open for applications and it will stay open until 31 January 2023.  

Using prototypes to test new policy ideas

Prototypes are a key part of how designers and policy designers use their skills to improve policymaking and test new ideas. We wrote about the advantages of a prototyping mindset in 2017, learning lessons from a project at that time …

Reflecting on a decade of ash dieback response in the UK

Barnaby Wylder is our Plant Health Forestry Lead in the North West of England.  In this blog he reflects upon ten years of handling ash dieback cases, and what the future might hold for our ash trees.

Why your property’s rateable value might change 

During a revaluation, property values might increase, decrease, or stay the same. Alan Colston, our Chief Valuer and Head of Surveying Profession, explains why.

The importance of ocean science and the role it plays in shaping UK Marine Policy

Ocean Science is at the core of our day-to-day activity at the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO). Our world renown experts harness the latest data science innovations and marine data insights to collect, process, verify and share the foundational data that …

UK pushes for ambitious and effective global plastic treaty at first negotiations meeting

Today we are looking at media coverage of the UK attending the first Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) meeting to negotiate the new legally binding treaty on plastic pollution that was held in Uruguay.

Catchment Sensitive Farming and the River Wye

The River Wye is an iconic river of importance to many people and the local economy. But we know the river’s water quality is being affected by pollution from farming as well as the water industry, home discharges and run-off …

Ignite Space is coming to Bristol

Ignite Space is coming to Aerospace Bristol on Tuesday 7 March 2023, where companies within the UK space sector will have the chance to network, and showcase services and products beneath the iconic Concorde Alpha Foxtrot.

How do you solve the Software Developer shortage across Government? Emerging talent!

The DDaT Profession Talent team at CDDO have been developing a variety of talent programmes to support departmental DDaT workforce pipelines across government, and we are now excited to announce the launch of our new Software Developer Graduate Scheme.

The scheme signals a step change in how we diversify our graduate offer and directly addresses the shortfall in software developer talent across government.

Designing Libraries

The Director of Designing Libraries, Ayub Khan, writes about library design.

National Tree Week in the media

Today we are looking at media coverage of our National Tree Week announcements.

Unlocking potential: digital delivery in the NHS

Innovation as a concept is hard to pin down. Some associate it with ground-breaking inventions. Others think of those small, incremental improvements in how we work day-to-day. Both can give rise to important “knowledge assets”. In my role as a …

Rabies in the UK: a personal perspective

APHA’s Rabies and Viral Zoonoses workgroup undertake work to reduce the risk of rabies and protect animals and humans in the UK and abroad. In this blog, we hear from Dr. Guanghui Wu as she talks about this important area of work and her passion stemming from an early childhood experience.