6564posts
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Watch: future-proofing our farming business with SFI
Mother and son team, Tracey and Will, run a dairy and beef farm in Langley Mill, Derbyshire. In this film, they talk through the SFI actions they’ve included in their agreement, including herbal leys in rotational pasture, hedgerows, soils, legume mix with grasses and pest management. They describe how SFI helps them to balance the books, take care of the environment and build the resilience of their farm business.
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Harnessing the power of local statistics with ONS
A guest blog from ONS. We all know that working out what's actually happening on the ground can be difficult. Linking national data to where people live and work is often a challenge for many civil servants, especially when you’re …
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100 STEMM women and non-binary people in Antarctica
In November 2023, I joined an expedition to Antarctica alongside a group of women and non-binary people from 28 countries around the world. What brought us together? We are all women or non-binary people with backgrounds in STEMM (science, technology, …
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Join us at our Digital Recruitment Days in the North East
Are you a product, delivery or user-centred design professional looking for an exciting and meaningful career opportunity? Come and meet us at our DLUHC Digital's Recruitment Days in Darlington on 6 and 7 February 2024.
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Co-creating the most complete overview of international design in government work
The International Design in Government ran the first ever 24-hour conference showcasing global public sector service transformation. Find out what the community is up to next!
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How DIO discovered a mysterious painting of the Falklands War
I’m the DIO Facilities Manager for HMS Raleigh, a training establishment for new recruits to the Royal Navy. A while ago, I found something a rather unusual painting hidden away in one of the rooms and now I’m on a …
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Response to coverage of the planning system
Articles today in The Times and Financial Times have claimed the Government has neglected housing and that the planning system is adversely affecting the delivery of new homes. This fails to recognise the Government’s record of delivery and reforms to …
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Bolder leadership for surface water flooding
Article written by Julie Foley, our Director of Flood Risk Strategy and Natural Adaptation, Environment Agency Surface water flooding happens when there is heavy rainfall and there is so much rainwater that it overwhelms drainage systems. Instead, rainwater collects over the …
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Plotting a safe course for autonomous vessels
Marine data provider XOCEAN recently deployed five of its Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs) off the Isles of Scilly to collect bathymetric data on behalf of the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO). The USVs scanned the seabed to help identify features from …
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Your Grants 'Introducing you to...'
RPA offers a wide range of grants and rural payments to farmers, businesses and local authorities. In this series of blogs, we look at the grants available in more detail, using case studies to showcase those who have taken advantage of these …
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Academy hopes for more award winning care
Arron Bolland is the Learning Development and Quality Manager at dementia care provider Vida Healthcare’s training centre, Vida Academy. He explains its role in finding new and innovative ways to support the care workforce with career progression and provide the highest quality of care to residents.
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Our message to Rochdale Boroughwide Housing
Several national and regional outlets reported this weekend about residents living in homes managed by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) who are still suffering from dangerous damp and mould. Coverage across BBC News, Manchester Evening News, Daily Mirror, Daily Express focus …
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How does COVID-19 variant JN1 compare to other variants?
With the emergence at the end of last year of COVID-19 variant JN.1, there are questions about how it compares to the many other variants that have been identified. JN.1 descends from variant BA.2.86 and has an additional mutation in …
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Safeguarding Global Coral Trade: The Power of a New Visual Guide for Border Inspections
It’s a dark, damp evening in February 2023 when staff from UK Border Force’s CITES team are called to Heathrow’s Animal Reception Centre to inspect a shipment of hard coral. A mismatch between the CITES permit and its packing list …
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New year, new you: why we’re focusing on Continuous Improvement
Chief Digital Officer for Defra Group Chris Thorn shares his thoughts on the value of Continuous Improvement and why it’s important to him.
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Coverage of Environment Agency enforcement of farming regulations in the River Wye
Today (14 January) there is coverage in the Observer of claims by campaign group River Action about the Environment Agency’s regulation of poultry farms in the River Wye Catchment. River Action is quoted claiming that the Environment Agency has …
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Personal perspectives on the Care Workforce Pathway
Individuals drawing on care services were just as vital contributors to the Care Workforce Pathway as care staff, providers and other sector partners. Jennifer Pearl is a member of Think Local Act Personal’s (TLAP) National Co-Production Advisory Group (NCAG) and has a spinal cord injury. She feels fortunate to have a good home care provider and explains how identifying the right values and behaviours are crucial.
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Response to Taylor Wimpey claims on local housing targets
An article in the Telegraph today reports on claims made by Taylor Wimpey that the Housing Secretary has watered down local housing targets for councils which is holding back housebuilding. This is not true. The Housing Secretary’s written ministerial statement …
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Cythnia's work in approved premises over Christmas and the New Year
As we're hiring for approved premises workers, we caught up with Cynthia who has been busy working in an approved premises in the Southwest region over the Christmas and New Year period. She reflects on the unique challenges and rewards …
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Help shape assessments to ensure harbour porpoise and marine birds are protected
Can you believe it’s a brand-new year already? Only last month we launched our latest call for evidence on the impacts of fishing on five English offshore marine protected areas (MPAs). These are the ones designated to protect certain highly …
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Slurry Infrastructure grant: last chance to apply
Round 2 of the Slurry Infrastructure grant will close for applications on Wednesday 17 January. We’re supporting many more projects than we did last year, so if you need slurry storage, now is the time to apply for a grant. In this post, I’ll give you a recap of the grant and the information you need to get started.
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Primary school admissions 2024: How to apply and when is the deadline?
Parents of children aged three and four will be thinking about submitting their applications to secure their child’s place at primary school for the next academic year. The deadline is fast approaching and applying on time will boost your chances …
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How we’re making it easier to access government forms online
What we learned from user research with the public on completing PDF and online forms.
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Dragons' Den IP Blog - Series 21 Episode 2
It’s Episode 2 of Dragons’ Den, and this week’s entrepreneurs sent us on an adventure exploring the beauty of the natural world. From luxury glamping to inflatables that let you take your rucksack for a river swim and organic products that balance your skin. Read on to find out more!
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Harnessing the power of events and APIs
Dan is Senior Technical Lead in our Integration Team. He leads on application development and adoption in several agile teams. Some of the most transformational new technologies for the team are events and APIs. APIs and events: tools for innovation …
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The Digital Markets Unit is hiring – find out how you can impact the way digital markets work
In the last 18 months the Digital Markets Unit (DMU) has been recruiting steadily as we ramp up to get ready for the Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Bill to become law. Over that time, we have grown from about …
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Why the GSE Skills Assessment Tool is a must-have for your development
What is the GSE Skills Assessment Tool? The GSE Skills Assessment Tool is a professional development web-based tool which allows you to track the skills required for your GSE career, and access tailored learning opportunities. GSE Skills Assessment Tool in …
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Adopting TCFD recommendations in the public sector (part 2)
In this follow up blog, we look at the challenges public sector organisations can face when implementing TCFD recommendations. We focus on scenario analysis as it can be a complex aspect of the recommendations.
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New and improved actions for upland farmers
Last week, we published a post about the Agricultural Transition Plan update. The update includes the full range of Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) actions — new and updated — with their payment rates. In this post, we will focus on the new actions relevant to those who farm in the uplands, both moorland and non-moorland grassland.
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Care Workforce Pathway: the role of lived experience
Social care colleagues will have better training, clearer career paths and improved job prospects following the announcement of government plans to develop the domestic care workforce. Think Local Act Personal's Tim Parkin explains how his organisation helped gather views from care colleagues and others to inform the Pathway's shape.
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What you need to know about changing schools during the year
Sometimes it is necessary for children to change school during the school year or at a time outside the usual transfer point, for example between academic years 8 to 9 rather than year 6 to year 7. This can be …
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Launching NSPARC - our new National Security Policy and Research CoLab
We are delighted to be launching the new National Security Policy and Research CoLab (NSPARC or N*), sponsored by the Office of the Chief Scientific Advisor for National Security and hosted by the Policy Lab. Who we are N* was …
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Get to WCAG 2.2 faster with the GOV.UK Design System
UK government services can use the GOV.UK Design System to help meet the latest accessibility guidelines, before monitoring for WCAG 2.2 starts in October 2024.
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Introducing Rural Land Changes: the new online RLE1 service
RPA has launched a new digital service for customers to notify us of mapping changes called Rural Land Changes. This online method will replace the eRLE1 form and significantly reduce the length of time it takes us to action submissions …
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School leaving age: Can you leave school at 16 and what are your options?
It is compulsory for young people to be in education or training until the age of 18, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay in school if it isn’t right for you. There are plenty of different routes to …
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Guiding principles for designing for Biodiversity Net Gain - experts share their insights
Welcome to our first Natural England instructional Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) guest blog. Three distinguished experts share their top tips and impart their insights on designing for BNG. They are Julia Baker, Technical Director at Mott MacDonald, David Mooney, CEO …
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Discovering potential opportunities for the National Underground Asset Register
The Geospatial Commission has launched a new discovery project to explore opportunities to widen access to the National Underground Asset Register. Richard Duffield, NUAR Discovery Project Lead, reveals why we started the project and how to get involved.
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7 lessons in mobilising the digital community - building a single definition of roles and skills
We've learnt a lot from running cross government CFDC over the last year and now we want to share seven key lessons we’ve learnt about governance
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UK NSC publishes new declaration of interests guidance
The UK NSC has updated its guidance and processes for individuals working with the committee to declare any interests that may conflict, or be perceived to conflict, with that work.
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Unleashing career potential in adult social care
For the first time, there will be a national social care career structure, the Care Workforce Pathway, with clearly defined roles and opportunities to discover the rewarding reality of the care sector first hand. Find out more...