GOV.UK blogs

A new challenge: using satellite tech to monitor Algal Blooms in Northern Ireland

The UK Space Agency is aiming to address the challenges blue-green algal blooms pose to Lough Neagh and its surrounding communities.

Meet the Modern Civil Service: Jo Shanmugalingam

Jo Shanmugalingam is the Second Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport, and she spoke to us about what a Modern Civil Service means to her.

Application are now open for Science and Engineering Fast Stream 2025

What do climate change, food safety, transport emissions and sustainable housing all have in common? They are all underpinned by science and engineering. Recruiting more scientists and engineers is essential to ensure scientific evidence provides quality government decision making. The …

Regulating the water industry - our approach, what we’re changing and new powers in the Water Bill 

Regulating the water industry - our approach, what we're changing and new powers

Live today- FMP and JFS consultations and publication of flatfish FMP

Today we’ve launched consultations on Defra’s next five draft fisheries management plans, a consultation on amendments to the joint fisheries statement and published the flatfish FMP.

Prioritising mental health in the workplace  

This year’s World Mental Health Day theme is ‘workplace mental health’. In this post, our colleague Noor talks about some of the mental health initiatives he has led on and been involved in whilst at MHCLG, and shares some insights and tips on how employers can support mental health in the workplace.

Reclaiming the Narrative: Celebrating Heritage and Connection to Nature

Michelle Mangal, Senior Manager, Connecting People with Nature team As we celebrate Black History Month this October, the theme “Reclaiming the Narrative: Reclaiming Connections with Nature,” feels more relevant than ever. At Natural England, we’re proud to highlight the fantastic …

Renters’ Rights Bill Takes a Crucial Step Forward with Second Reading in Parliament

Today, our Renters’ Rights Bill returned to Parliament for the Second Reading, less than a month since it was first introduced. This will be the first time MPs will debate the Bill, as these much-needed protections for renters take another …

The value of parametric insurance in the event of climate disasters

The African Risk Capacity (ARC) organisation marks 10 years of providing rapid prearranged finance following extreme weather events and GAD works with ARC and others. In this blog we look at the use of parametric insurance to deliver support to the most vulnerable areas of the world.

Visiting comets and autumnal meteors: the night sky in October 2024

The longer nights of October provide more time to see the autumnal skies before the nights get chiller! It’s a great month for meteors, seeing the closest and brightest galaxy in our skies, and later in the month there’s a …

Celebrating one year of innovation: Project Simplify’s digital makeover

Starting as a six-week sprint for quick improvement wins, the success of the Department for Business and Trade’s Simplify initiative brought a new challenge.

LUMINOUS Show Technology – King's Award for International Trade recipient

LUMINOUS are leading manufacturers of special effects hardware. “Winning The King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade is a momentous occasion for the team, and we are immensely proud of this achievement. It serves as confirmation of our dedication to …

Cultivating resilient trees and woodlands in London: a model for all

Trees are battling the climate crisis, pests and diseases. Richard Cobb, Local Partnership Advisor for the South East and London, shares what we can learn from recent research in London.

State of Natural Capital Report for England is now published

The State of Natural Capital Report for England 2024 : Risks to nature and why it matters, a new report from Natural England, was published on 9 October 2024.  The economy and society are intimately dependent on the health of the …

Online surveys to share fisheries management plan views

We’ve launched two online surveys to support the development of the fisheries management plans for wrasses, black seabream, and demersal stocks in the Celtic Sea and Western Channel.

Coverage of Ofwat’s annual Water Company Performance Report

Today we are looking at media coverage following the publication of Ofwat’s annual Water Company Performance Report

How we monitor flu and other respiratory viruses each winter

As we approach another winter season, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is ramping up its comprehensive surveillance systems to monitor flu and other seasonal respiratory viruses. Here's an overview of how we're working to keep the nation informed and protected. …

Scalability Challenges in Privacy-Preserving Federated Learning

Hear from some of the winners of the UK-US PETs Prize Challenges on scalability challenges and solutions in privacy-preserving federated learning.

My experience of using Get help buying for schools to buy multi-functional devices and more

Jacqui Whiting is a Procurement and Contracts Manager at Our Lady of the Magnificat Multi-Academy Company (MAC), a family of 17 schools across Warwickshire and Worcestershire.  Jacqui has used Get help buying for schools to buy multi-functional devices, grounds maintenance and catering.

Marburg virus disease: what you need to know

This blog post was reviewed and updated in January 2025. Marburg virus belongs to the filovirus family, along with Ebola. It can cause Marburg virus disease, a haemorrhagic fever, which can damage blood vessels and cause bleeding, and its presentation …

5 tips for managing your woodland this autumn

MacBradan Bones, Nature Recovery Advisor at the Forestry Commission, shares five tips on managing your woodland this autumn.

Defra group digital and data transformation strategy: how we’re making our services better

David Caldwell, Defra’s Deputy Director for Digital Transformation, provides an update on the work underway to transform digital services in Defra. It has been a while since we last shared what we’re doing to transform our services. I took up …

How peatland partnerships are transforming and restoring degrading landscapes into healthy, vibrant peatlands

Peatland partnerships are transforming degrading landscapes into healthy, vibrant peatlands across England. In this post, Sam Joyce, from the Peatland Restoration team at Defra, shares more about the collaborative work he's seen taking place.

RPA and National Customer Service Week

This year’s National Customer Service Week runs from 7 to 11 October 2024 and is designed to raise awareness of customer service and the vital role it plays. One of the ways RPA gathers feedback on our approach to customer service …

Enabling Technologies Programme: Aiding Exploration 

An overview of the ways that the UK Space Agency funds national efforts to drive innovation in space exploration and human space activity through the Enabling Technologies Programme (ETP).

Effective communication for researchers: how to listen, observe and speak for impact

At HMRC, we hold an annual learning and development event - ResCon - to discuss trending user research topics and learn new skills. At our last event, experts in body language, persuasion, negotiation and marketing advised us on effective communication, a vital skill for all researchers.

Using the 5th edition of the UK Forestry Standard in England

The 5th edition of the UK Forestry Standard came into full effect on 1 October 2024. Find out what this means for woodland managers.

User needs and user biases: telling them apart

This post discusses the difference between user needs and user biases, the consequences user biases can have, and the strategies and techniques the Common Tools as a Service team has implemented in their user research to counteract them.

Is there enough in the tank? Managing our water resources for the future

It’s unlikely that you’d set off on a long car journey without filling up your car, or leave the house for the day without charging your phone. Without adequate preparation, many parts of our everyday lives wouldn’t be possible. So …

Prisoner-facing Services: Design Principles

Extensive in-prison research leads to the first set of design principles for prisoner-facing services. Five years' of prisoner research In 2018, as part of the Launchpad in-cell technology programme, we researched, designed and built the Content Hub platform for prisoners. …

RPA Customer Board visit to Bleak Bank Farm

In the third of a series of blogs about Customer Director Marie Hardeman’s visits to shows, farms and projects, she tells us about her time visiting Bleak Bank Farm with members of RPA’s Customer Board. The Customer Board was created …

Green Libraries Week returns

This October, Green Libraries Week returns to celebrate the work going on in libraries across the UK focused on sustainability, climate change and green action within their communities. During Green Libraries Week from 07 to 13 October, the Green Libraries Partnership is  …

How can being winter ready help all year round?

In our last post about how farmers can get ready for winter we looked at a case study with Tom, a dairy farmer in Cornwall, who had made some major changes to his slurry storage and farm buildings. In this …

A call for feedback on the indicators of species abundance in England

In this post, Clare and Claire, from the Environmental Statistics and Reporting team at Defra, share what the species abundance indicator is, and how you can get in touch to give feedback on the statistic in development. 

Collaboration day - developing a community of learning

The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) and the Met Office strengthened their long-standing relationship earlier this year by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

To maintain momentum, the UKHO and Met Office arranged a day of collaboration hosted by the Met Office, exploring their shared understanding and learnings on the topic of ‘our people’.

Dame Carol Robinson – pioneering mass spectrometry in biomedical research

British chemist, Professor Dame Carol Robinson (DBE FRS FMedSci) has received the honour of being the first British person to be presented with the European Patent Office (EPO) Lifetime Achievement Award at the European Inventor Awards in Malta.

Annual Statutory Homelessness statistics

This morning, we published our Annual Statutory Homelessness statistics for the financial year 2023-24. It gives a high-level picture of homelessness in England and an analysis of the ways local authorities help prevent homelessness and provide support, including the use …

A day in the life of a Fisheries Enforcement Officer

My name is John Groves, and I am a Fisheries Enforcement Officer (FEO) for the Environment Agency in East Anglia. Today I was out on the Norfolk Broads with a fellow Fisheries Enforcement Officer and the Broads Authority checking anglers’ …

Mitigating sample bias in children's social care

Every piece of user research we do seeks to understand something about the people who use a DfE service or are impacted by a policy. We call that group a ‘population’. When we conduct user research, we need to find …

Fish, Camera, Action: Early adoption of Remote Electronic Monitoring on UK fishing vessels 

Authors: Ross Robertson (Defra), Martin Arris (MMO), Rebecca Skirrow (Cefas) and Thomas Catchpole (Cefas) What is REM and what are our plans?   Remote Electronic Monitoring, or REM for short, is a data collection tool that can be installed on vessels …