GOV.UK blogs

National Inclusion Week : GSE Diversity and Inclusivity Action Group (DIAG)

It is National Inclusion Week and many of us are doing something to recognise it. Here in the Government Science & Engineering (GSE) Profession I volunteered to write three blogs to celebrate National Inclusion week. The first, is reminding you …

England’s riverbanks and watercourses to be planted with new woodland

Positive coverage of Defra’s new Woodlands for Water project which aims to plant over 3,000 trees along England’s rivers, in partnership with the Rivers Trust, National Trust, Woodland Trust and the Beaver Trust.

Updated data integrity requirements for GLP Monitoring Programme members

Members should conduct a documented review of their existing data integrity processes against the new OECD document to ensure that they fully comply and any required changes or additions are implemented.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi explains the importance of vaccines for pupils aged 12 and up and condemns those "spreading conspiracy theories and targeting teachers and pupils at the school gates"

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has today written in the Telegraph about the importance of keeping school attendance high and the role of the vaccine in that. 

Inclusion – more than just a word

As people around the UK take part in events to mark National Inclusion Week, Ahana Ogle shares her experiences of being on the Civil Service Autism Exchange Programme.

National Inclusion Week at HMRC, Christine’s Story

National Inclusion week 2021 will take place from 27 September until 3 October with a focus on this year’s theme of #UnitedForInclusion. We celebrate National Inclusion week to recognise the support we offer to colleagues to make sure no one …

Helping MOT garages manage test demand in the autumn

MOT demand could be higher this autumn so we've updated our toolkit to help you.

New report underlines need for joined-up action to protect rivers

Today’s blog looks at a new report underlining the need for a joined-up approach to improve river health.

Civil Service Fast Stream Campaign for 2022

Applications are now open for the Science and Engineering Fast Stream 2022 intake. Apply today!

11 things to remember for university this year

Throughout the pandemic young people have made big sacrifices, but thanks to the Covid-19 vaccine programme, which has meant the easing of national restrictions, there is an exciting outlook for the academic year ahead. This blog lists some important things to know for students starting or returning to university this year.

100th candidate completes NHS newborn hearing screening competency assessment

The 100th candidate successfully completed the external competency assessment (ECA) in September 2021.

One-In, Some-Out: should government set itself a target or control framework to reduce regulatory impacts?

Committee member Jonathan Cave discusses some of the issues to think about if considering a 'One-in, X-out' approach to controlling regulation.

Winter vaccinations offer twice the peace of mind

Millions of eligible people, including care staff, are now being offered a COVID-19 booster vaccine. Natasha Edwards, Registered Manager at Evergreen Care Home, explains why she and her colleagues are fully behind the booster AND the winter flu jab.

NHS newborn hearing screening: 11 million babies and counting

The NHS Newborn Hearing Screening Programme has played a major role in identifying moderate to profound hearing loss in newborn babies in England and has reached another major milestone, having now screened 11 million babies.

The programme .

National Eye Health Week: How might my child benefit from the ‘Glasses in Classes’ pilot?

Good eyesight in children can have a huge effect on literacy and academic attainment. If a child cannot see the board properly or read their book it can affect their progress at school. Reading is key to unlocking the rest …

Working with an Independent Evaluator

An independent evaluator has been brought on board to assure the end-to-end delivery of the Online Safety Data Initiative (OSDI).

Black History Month 2021: Black Women in Public Life - 'Our stories have power'

Join us on 7 October 2021 to hear from prominent Black women in public life  – ‘Our stories have power’ - a collaborative national online event to celebrate Black History Month brought to you by Civil Service Local East, South-East and London (ESEL) and the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) Race network - BAMEnet.

Reset, Regroup, Restart - It’s time to take our finger off the pause button

We are hosting a Civil Service Local Connect event aimed at those who manage teams returning to the office post covid.

You said, we did – NIPT result templates

You told us you wanted result templates to provide lower chance results to women following non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) screening.

WHO updates guideline levels for air pollutants

In today’s blog we look at media coverage of the World Health Organization’s updated guidelines for air pollutants.

APHA Virologist co-directing the new UK - International Global Coronavirus Network (UK-ICN)

APHA Lead Scientist and world-renowned virologist Dr Sharon Brookes is co-directing a new network linked to our expanding Coronavirus programme. Find out how APHA will provide crucial advice to stakeholders, policy makers and key international bodies in this exciting new initiative.

UKHSA operational launch – rebranding digital channels

Reforms to the public health system announced in March become operational on 1 October. At this point, PHE will transfer its health protection functions into the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and health improvement / healthcare public health functions into …

New guidance to help NHS breast screening providers and commissioners tackle inequalities

New national guidance published to support providers in addressing inequalities throughout the breast screening programme pathway.

New beginnings in the Civil Service world of wellbeing

Wellbeing is at the heart of Civil Service culture, and post-pandemic, it has never been more important. Sarah Healey, the new Health and Wellbeing Champion, lauds our recent achievements and looks ahead to new priorities including the upcoming Civil Service …

BEIS Fusion Regulation Green Paper and Fusion Strategy

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is publishing a green paper on the future of fusion energy regulation and separate fusion strategy at the beginning of October. Fusion energy could be the ultimate clean power solution, delivering …

New date for specialist sickle cell and thalassaemia counsellor update course

The PHE sickle cell and thalassaemia (SCT) screening team is pleased to announce a new date for the very popular specialist counsellor update course – 8 December 2021. The course is delivered by King’s College London, funded by the national …

APHA breaking new ground in the genomic surveillance of pathogens

APHA is building increasingly more sophisticated tools to integrate full genome sequences with epidemiological information enabling visualisation of how disease is spreading. In this two-minute read, learn about how APHA is using this technology in practice.

Containerisation in the public sector – a new platform to improve our services

Head of IT Operations Practice Rachel Jones discusses how HM Land Registry has become one of the first organisations to adopt containerisation technology.

Policing Minister statement on Insulate Britain protests

Minister for Crime and Policing Kit Malthouse delivered the below statement to the House on 22 September 2021.   With permission, Sir, I would like to make a statement about protests.   Mr Speaker, there is widespread anger throughout the …

Planning for flood-resilient places

Getting the right kind of growth in the right places is one of the main ways of achieving climate resilient places. Effective spatial planning is an essential tool for making land use choices that help to achieve greater flood and …

FACTSHEET: Windrush Compensation Scheme - August 2021

Windrush Compensation Scheme factsheet - September 2021 The Windrush generation were wronged by successive governments. To help right those wrongs, the Home Office has put in place a range of initiatives. Windrush Compensation Scheme The Windrush Compensation Scheme was launched …

Emily Miles' stakeholder update - a new report on food standards

FSA Chief Executive Emily Miles discusses plans for a new report on UK food standards.

International Week of the Deaf People 2021

Ben Jaab discusses the challenges facing deaf colleagues in the Civil Service, and looks at the latest research and work underway to improve their working conditions. In the UK, there are 10-11 million people who are deaf or hard of …

‘The Big Ask’ Survey – The Findings

Today (21 September) the Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, published the results of ‘The Big Ask’ survey, the biggest ever consultation undertaken with children.

Maths Circle Receive their Prestigious Queen's Awards Trophy

After a pandemic-laden 18 month wait, the team at Maths Circle were absolutely delighted and honoured to formally receive their Queen’s Award for Enterprise at a wonderful celebration hosted at Bedford Heights.

GO-Science EmTech Library

The Government Office for Science’s (GO-Science) emerging technologies (EmTech) team recently launched our new EmTech library which has been a great success so far. The library has a wide range of technology based scientific papers, horizon scans, tech reports and …

New GB consultation to protect plants from harmful pests and diseases

On today's blog, we look into the media coverage of today’s launch of a consultation to protect plants from harmful pests and diseases.

Removal of school ‘bubbles’ cuts disruption as more than 91% of pupils attend school

Earlier this month, all pupils returned to schools following the summer holidays. Our latest attendance statistics help paint a picture of how Covid-19 is impacting schools, and we’ll continue to release attendance statistics throughout the year. 

Welcome to the Buying for Schools blog

Welcome to the Buying for Schools blog. David Allen, Stakeholder and Engagement Lead, provides an overview of what you can expect from the new blog.

What is the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA)?

We asked Helen Lumb, Schools Engagement Manager in the Schools Commercial Team, 10 quick questions on the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA).