7363posts
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Enhancing witness suites: Transforming court spaces for better access to justice
10 court witness waiting rooms across England and Wales have undergone significant improvements, aiming to create a more welcoming environment for those who need to use them.
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Implementing the Secure by Design approach
The rollout and implementation of the cross-government Secure by Design approach is well underway. Learn more about the importance of championing Secure by Design and the key steps to adopt at this stage in the latest CDDO blog.
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Another leap for workers’ rights reforms: ministers host first meeting with business leaders and unions
The government’s plans to strengthen the rights of working people took another major leap yesterday, as Deputy PM Angela Rayner and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds hosted trade unions and business organisations for the first time to progress their mission to …
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Going beneath the surface to reduce flood risk
Sam MacAllister and Tracy Hodsman from our asset performance teams explain how looking beneath the surface can be a key part of ensuring those on dry land have their flood risk reduced. The Environment Agency manages many different structures up …
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Inaccurate National Planning Policy Framework reporting
There has been media reporting suggesting councils will be forced to approve wind turbines, through changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This inaccurate. We have made clear renewable projects will still subject to strict planning controls to protect …
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Reporting around rent controls
It has been reported in the media today that the Government is planning to give the Mayor of London powers to impose rent controls. This is not true. Fixing Britain’s housing crisis is one of our top priorities, and giving …
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From Homes for Ukraine to community building: my journey as a business analyst Fast Streamer
In this blog post, Luke Radford, Business Analyst and Fast Streamer turns the spotlight on our growing business analysis and performance analysis community of practice, and shares his experience of working on the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme.
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England achieves WHO certification for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B
Routine antenatal screening and neonatal immunisation have helped England achieve the World Health Organisation elimination targets for hepatitis B mother to child transmission.
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A warm welcome to our new members and a new vision for GDSA
Sarah Gartland welcomes a new cohort of members to the Government Digital Sustainability Alliance (GDSA) family, and shares the new vision.
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Introducing Natural England’s Science Advisory Committee
Prof Sallie Bailey, Chief Scientist I am excited to have started my role as Chief Scientist and recently attended my first meeting of Natural England’s Science Advisory Committee (NESAC). NESAC is a formal committee of Natural England’s Board, who are …
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How we migrated GOV.UK Notify to AWS Elastic Container Service
GOV.UK Notify recently migrated our applications to AWS Elastic Container Service. Find out how we did it without affecting our users.
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There’s still time to get free business advice
The Farming Resilience Fund offers free, tailored business support to help farmers and land managers plan during the early years of the agricultural transition. With over 100 actions available through the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) a range of grants to explore and with the advice offer ending in early 2025, now is a good time to talk to an adviser and plan for the future.
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Introducing you to...
Hi, I’m Nicole Villani and I’ve been working as a summer intern with RPA’s Grants Service team, based in Nottingham. I got the nine-week role as part of the Civil Service’s summer internship programme, after completing an internship in the …
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Finding Resolution: Inside the Small Claims Mediation Service
Our latest podcast episode explores the Small Claims Mediation Service and how it is supporting users to help speed up their claims and avoid the potential stress of going to court.
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Is agroforestry right for your farm? New funding to help plan and establish agroforestry systems
Agroforestry Development Manager Jim O'Neill explains the benefits of agroforestry and the support and funding available.
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Deputy Prime Minister visits Stoke-On-Trent in Light of Recent Violent Disorder
The Deputy Prime Minister visited Stoke-On-Trent yesterday (13 August) where she heard first-hand from those who were impacted by recent violent disorder. There has been coverage of the visit in BBC News online, Stoke-On-Trent Live and on BBC Midlands. Coverage …
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Combining AI and content design to extract insights from service assessment reports
How do we make sure that a Large Language Model (LLM) understands a task, and completes it as accurately as possible? If you’ve experimented yourself, or read the advice of major LLM providers (such as these guides from Anthropic, Google, …
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Surveying fish on the River Stour
My name is Dan Hayter and I work for the Environment Agency in East Anglia. Part of my job involves monitoring the number of fish we have in our rivers and one way I do this is through fish surveys. …
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Unrest highlights value of charity kindness and voice in national life
The toxicity unfolding online and on our streets over recent weeks has been shocking and disturbing. The events have demonstrated how easily vocal minorities can exploit division and incite violence. But my belief in the strength of our communities, and …
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A day in the life of a peatland contractor
In this post, Jonny Bainbridge, owner of an agri-environmental contracting business, shares a day in the life of a peatland contractor.
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Providing good experiences for children with complex needs
***Update: we have also released a podcast on this topic*** In January, we published a new research report on children with complex needs in children’s homes. The report was based on a national survey of local authorities and children’s home …
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What we're working on: improving our digital services
Gordon Thomson, DVSA's Head of Vehicle Testing, explains the work we’re doing to improve our digital services in the latest what we're working on blog post.
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Understanding the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023 Annual Declaration
As the year progresses, we are reminding Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreement holders to submit their annual declaration. What is the Annual Declaration? The annual declaration is how SFI agreement holders confirm that they have delivered against their agreement …
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Training to be a Programme Facilitator
The programme facilitator role involves working with groups of offenders who are completing mandatory courses as part of their probation conditions. We spoke with two programme facilitators, Simone and Craig who bring different experiences of the role. Simone joined the …
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An introduction to the NUAR Data Model
The National Underground Asset Register presents a standardised view of pipes and cables to support safe and efficient excavation works. That view is underpinned by a data model based on a new international standard. Dr Neil Brammall, NUAR Product Owner, describes that data model and plans for sharing it.
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Future-proofing the ResilienceDirect service by migrating to public cloud
Cabinet Office Digital (CO Digital) has teamed up with the Resilience Directorate to transform the online event and emergency response service ResilienceDirect. ResilienceDirect plays a key role in coordinating the planning, response and recovery services across multiple agencies during national …
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From casualty evacuations to historic ruins: ready for anything in Belize
Facilitating military training anywhere in the world is an important job. The primary role of DIO (Belize) Range Control, Wardens and Tracker teams is providing a safe place to train and working with exercising units to ensure that military training …
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Government to double water bill compensation for poor customer service
Today we are looking at coverage of government plans to double reimbursement payments for water company customers when their basic services are impacted.
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How to 'Get Started' using GOV.UK Forms - experiences of the Content team at the DVSA
In this guest blog post, Thomas Williams and John Ploughman, from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) share their experience of being private beta partners and getting started with GOV.UK Forms.
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Results day 2024: What's next after picking up your A level, T level and VTQ results?
It can feel like there’s a lot riding on A Level, T Level and Vocational Technical Qualifications (VTQ) results day but if you don’t get your predicted grades, don’t worry - it doesn’t mean that your education journey stops here. …
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Restoration of Coastal Grazing Marsh in Essex
My name is Nicola and I work as a Catchment Co-ordinator in the East Anglia Environment Programme team. I work across Essex from the River Colne to the Mardyke including our extensive coastline. A key aspect of my job is …
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Grade 7 Senior Private Secretary to the Chief Scientific Adviser
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the department focused on delivering economic growth for the UK. DBT supports businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. Job description As Senior Private Secretary (SPS), …
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Meteors galore and a planetary conjunction: the night sky in August 2024
This month brings one of the best meteor showers of the year, an opportunity to see a conjunction of Mars and Jupiter and the chance to see our Moon pass in front of Saturn.
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Quarterly homelessness statistics
Yesterday the Department published its quarterly homelessness statistics from Jan-March 2024 showing record numbers of households, including those with children, in temporary accommodation. There have been several pieces of national coverage including The Mirror, The Guardian and The Times reporting …
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Royal Society Pairing Scheme 2024
This year, The Royal Society Pairing Scheme took place in March and provided policymakers and research scientists an opportunity to experience a different working environment. To do this, 30 research scientists each year are paired with UK parliamentarians and civil …
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Clarifying the Facts: Tagging of hedgehogs and licensing requirements
There has been some misinformation on social media recently regarding the tagging of hedgehogs to enable identification of individuals. This blog post from Natural England aims to set the record straight and provide clarity on this important issue. Background Marking …
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Services Week 2024 in review
Services Week, the annual event series run by the Government Digital and Data community for people working in the UK public sector, grew in reach again this year. An estimated 5,000 participants took part in Services Week 2024, over 62 …
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How working in cycles and rhythms of nature reflects in our Product Lifecycle framework
Find out about ‘sunsetting’ and ‘clearing the decks’ of our digital services
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Protecting the South Humber coastline
Mark Adams from the Partnerships and Strategic Overview coastal team talks about progress on strengthening flood defences in North East Lincolnshire. Last year our team began work on a three-year project to improve 4.5km of coastal defences between the Ports …
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Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks powers up nature recovery by backing Projects for Nature with £250,000
In this post, Justin Francis, the chairperson for Projects for Nature, shares an update on the second business to support Projects for Nature, and how this funding will help accelerate nature recovery.