7284posts
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World Book Day 2025: Reading for pleasure top tips for parents and teachers
Guest post by the National Literacy Trust World Book Day isn’t just about putting together a great costume idea, it’s about showing children the power of reading. Reading lets children discover new worlds, meet new people and learn about the …
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Reflections on the NSIP Forum 2025: Embracing change and innovation in infrastructure planning
David Price, Service Lead for Infrastructure at the Planning Inspectorate, shares insights from the recent Waterfront NSIP Conference, updates on infrastructure projects, and announces the April launch of a customer-focused service transformation. Read about new linear infrastructure guidance, digital improvements, and enhanced feedback channels.
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Precision Breeding – Publication of Draft Guidance
This week, draft secondary legislation necessary to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 for plants in England was laid in Parliament. The Government wants to introduce precision breeding technology due to its potential to increase food production, reduce …
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Protections boosted for the lowest paid workers
Millions of the very lowest paid workers will get better employment protections thanks to new changes to the Employment Rights Bill. The changes confirmed today follow extensive consultation with business groups and unions to ensure the plan to Make Work …
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Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier: Supporting farmers and land managers to deliver nature friendly farming
By Peter Craven, Head of Agriculture At Natural England, we know that farming and nature can thrive together, and Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) is here to help make that happen. Whether you're already working towards a more sustainable farm or …
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Teaching Latin and the classics: support available for schools
The study of classics and ancient languages can teach us valuable lessons in history, politics and art that are still relevant today. It helps students understand the evolution of language and gives them the chance to study and analyse ancient …
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DBT's Machinery of Government: an insight into the teams behind the Single IT Platform migration project (part 1)
Find out more about the teams behind DBT’s Single IT Platform migration as part of the Machinery of Government project.
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Innovation 2025: Two days of public sector transformation
Join us for Innovation 2025, an international conference that brings together public sector leaders who are driving transformation initiatives.
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Recognising and Responding to Early Warning Signs in Public Sector Bodies – new report out on 25 March
The Committee on Standards in Public Life will publish its new report, Recognising and Responding to Early Warning Signs in Public Sector Bodies, on 25 March 2025.
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Meet the Trailblazer: Nadia Shivji-Brown
by Nadia Shivji-Brown Tell us about a Knowledge Asset innovative project you’re proud of and why? I am working on a Tuberculosis (TB) Biomarker project at UKHSA. Although I joined the project two years ago and was not involved from …
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How caseworkers investigate easements
A senior caseworker explains how HM Land Registry colleagues investigate easements, focusing on the importance of clear definitions and common problems with the power to grant.
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Applying filters consistently in DfE
Filters are a common component used in many services across DfE. There are many variations and we as a department have no guidance on how to use filters. There are a lot of differences in filter styling and functionality in …
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How Academy Transformation Trust saved over £500,000 through better contract management
Tony Diaram, Project Manager at Academy Transformation Trust, shares how specialist contract management training has helped deliver significant savings across his trust. Academy Transformation Trust is a not-for-profit charitable trust of 22 schools across central England, including primary, secondary, special, …
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Gone in 60 seconds: On the road with our vehicle tax evasion enforcement team
As part of DVLA’s vehicle tax evasion campaign, we joined our wheel-clamping partner, NSL, on the road in the Liverpool and Midlands regions to see how they’re tackling vehicle tax evasion.
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Defra’s One Food programme collaborates with United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on systems approaches for food sustainability.
The One Food programme team at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) recently visited the FAO head office in Rome, Italy to co-lead a collaborative workshop on multi-hazard monitoring and …
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Weaving a web: how Corryn Biotechnologies spun into healthcare innovation
Welsh business Corryn Biotechnologies manufacture biocompatible and biodegradable wound dressings. We spoke to founder Luke Burke about the business and its intellectual property (IP).
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NHSE Digital Social Care Website Alpha Assessment
From: DHSCAssessment date: 2 February 2023Stage: AlphaResult: MetService Provider: NHSE with TPX Impact Service description This service aims to solve the problem of providing advice and support to the social care sector on technology and data protection. In partnership with …
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Please respond to UK NSC stakeholder survey
Please complete short survey to help us improve the way the UK NSC involves stakeholders and the public in its work.
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Beaver wild release: a milestone for nature recovery in England
By Stuart Otway, Principal Officer in Natural England’s Complex Cases Unit and Delphine Pouget, Principal Officer in Natural England’s Species Recovery & Reintroductions Team After centuries of absence, beavers are beginning to reclaim their rightful place in the English landscape. …
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Meet the Space Exploration Advisory Committee (SEAC)
An introduction to the The Space Exploration Advisory Committee, which is composed of UK-based experts across scientific and technical disciplines related to space exploration.
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Lessons from the Government Property Agency’s One Big Thing: How Small Changes are making a big impact
A guest blog by Stuart Watts, Head of Customer Insights and Workplace Change at the GPA Imagine if one small change to how your team works could save hours each week, or spark fresh, creative ideas. At the Government Property …
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Unlocking Accessibility: Key misconceptions, common issues, and tools used by Accessibility Specialists
We asked accessibility specialists about what are the key misconceptions and common issues they encounter in accessibility, and what tools they use during audits.
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Dragons’ Den IP Blog - Series 22 Episode 8
Dragons' Den never fails to surprise me, but tonight's episode was on another level. As someone who quite obviously has a love for IP, I found myself frantically taking notes one moment and then wiping away my tears the next.
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What Cornwall’s whale sightings mean for our seas — and how to watch responsibly
This month, Cornwall’s coastline has become a hotspot for whale sightings. This includes humpback whales - large, beautiful and powerful wild animals that can range in length from 14–17 m (46–56 ft) and weigh up to 40 metric tons! These …
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A message from FSA Chair Susan Jebb
Cymraeg Last week’s news that inflation had increased from 2.5% to 3% in January was a reminder that higher food prices will continue to be a concern for many households this year. Food insecurity and its impact on peoples’ diets …
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Setting the foundations for faster plan-making
A new home for plan-making resources, called 'Create or update a local plan', has been published on GOV.UK, bringing together all the essential guidance and tools councils need to produce a local plan. Responding to feedback by providing clearer, consistent guidance, including new standards to create policy maps, our aim is to make the process faster and more efficient.
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Using data to improve inclusion in certified digital identity services
We recently launched the second year of the inclusion monitoring report survey for certified digital verification services. It is compulsory for services certified against the UK digital identity and attributes trust framework to complete the survey. The purpose of the …
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New Procurement Act: exclusion and debarment on competition grounds - what suppliers and contractors need to know
On 24 February 2025, the Procurement Act 2023 came into force, driving greater efficiency, transparency, and fairness in public sector procurement. The Act introduces stronger rules on the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. Changes …
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How new technologies are helping us monitor one of England’s largest grey seal colonies
By Gabriella Fasoli and Nick Tomline (AI specialists), Emma Milner (marine mammal specialist) and Elizabeth Mitchell (engagement), all on the marine Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (mNCEA) programme Documenting Norfolk's biggest beach party On a windy day in December, something …
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Animal Health and Welfare Pathway now offers vet visits for multiple species
From today, livestock farmers can now apply for funding for both the Animal Health and Welfare Review and the endemic disease follow-up for more than one species. In this post, we give an overview and details of a webinar for you to learn more.
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Farming in Protected Landscapes programme extended until 2026
Farmers and land managers in England’s protected landscapes can now apply for funding from the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme until March 2026.
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How public libraries break down barriers to digital inclusion
Today the government has set out actions to begin tackling digital exclusion, publishing first steps of a new Digital Inclusion Action Plan which includes funding for local initiatives and partnering with inclusion charity, Digital Poverty Alliance to provide laptops to …
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Testing our proposals to improve education inspections
Earlier this month, we launched a public consultation on our new approach to inspecting education providers. This includes new toolkits for how we will inspect, and the introduction of report cards. We want to hear from parents, carers, learners and …
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Bringing SaaS tools into a fully supported service: powering innovation as a live services manager
As a live services manager at MHCLG Digital, Poonam's role revolves around encouraging a more effective use of Software as a Service (SaaS) tools within the department. Find out more about Poonam's role, her team's mission as well as her journey from financial services to public services.
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Art, Design and Participation in Public Policy
Can artistic and design-led methods help policymaking be more people-centred and participatory? In autumn 2024, Policy Lab collaborated with Demos in a public event to explore this question as part of their Collaborative Democracy Network. Policy Lab has been at …
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Unlocking the power of data: transforming pension schemes for the digital age
A robust data strategy is crucial for pension schemes in the digital age. Effective strategies enhance efficiency, member experience, and compliance. Learn how to avoid pitfalls such as data silos and poor quality, and embrace innovations like pensions dashboards, to unlock your data's full potential.
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DVS legislation marches on through the Commons
As part of our series of short updates on the Government’s plans to create a legislative framework for secure and trusted digital verification services in the UK, I can now report that the draft legislation has passed an important milestone …
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Coming soon: grants for equipment, technology and innovation
Today, Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, announced new opportunities to apply for productivity grants in 2025. In this post, we give an overview.
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An update on Higher Level Stewardship and Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier
To better reflect the contributions made by those with HLS agreements and to support the continued protection and management of these sites, we’re increasing HLS payment rates. We’re also encouraging those considering applying for a CSHT agreement to familiarise themselves with the process to prepare.
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An update on Capital Grants
Following the temporary closure of the Capital Grants scheme in November 2024, we’re pleased to share that we’ve secured sufficient funding for Capital Grants for 2025/26. This means we can now process the 4,040 completed Capital Grants applications that were on hold.