PublicTechnology

Public Technology stands out as the top provider of free and unbiased news focused on digital changes within the public sector.

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Treasury deploys ‘24×7 detect and response’ cyber service

1 week ago | publictechnology.net | Sam Trendall

HM Treasury has signed a six-figure deal for a round-the-clock service to support the identification and mitigation of cyberthreats. On 24 March, the finance department entered into an initial two-year agreement with Nottingham-based tech supplier Littlefish, which has been contracted to provide a “managed detection and response service”.
DWP use of email for citizen comms ‘being progressed’

1 week ago | publictechnology.net | Sam Trendall

The Department for Work and Pensions’ plans to make greater use of email in communicating with citizens are “being progressed”. A little over a year ago, ministers indicated that the department wished to explore the possibilities of increased use of email in its engagement with service users – beyond its existing uses in cases where it is necessary in order to meet a citizen’s accessibility requirements.
ICO seeks leader for burgeoning AI and analytics operation

1 week ago | publictechnology.net | Sam Trendall

The Information Commissioner’s Office is seeking to recruit a leader for its growing work with artificial intelligence and analytics. The data-protection regulator has advertised a new post as head of analytics and AI, a role which comes with a salary of up to £79,732.
GDS retains Notify suppliers with £200m in new deals

1 week ago | publictechnology.net | Sam Trendall

The Government Digital Service has signed a pair of deals set to be worth up to £200m to retain the two core suppliers whose services underpin the sending of billions of public sector text messages via the GOV.UK Notify platform. On 1 April GDS entered into new two-year contracts with long-standing Notify commercial partners Firetext and MMG. These engagements follow directly on from the previous deals with the two firms, which concluded at the end of last month.
HMRC to provide callback service and waiting time estimates

1 week ago | publictechnology.net | Jim Dunton

HM Revenue and Customs has rejected a number of recommendations for customer service improvements put forward in a report from members of parliament’s Public Accounts Committee. However, among the recommended measures that the tax agency has signed up for is a new service to call back customers ringing busy helplines, as well as providing the public with projected waiting times. The department also agreed to not cut callers off without warning.
EXCL: DWP to build ‘transformational in-house digital service’ to replace national Find a Job online tool

2 weeks ago | publictechnology.net | Sam Trendall

The Department for Work and Pensions is building a new “transformational in-house digital service” to replace government’s existing public job-searching tool for citizens, PublicTechnology can reveal. The Find a Job service was launched in 2018 and is based on technology from digital job board specialist Adzuna – which beat off competition from rivals Monster and Hireserve to secure the delivery contract. Find a Job replaced the previous Universal Jobmatch tool launched by government in 2012.
NHS signs £500m combined cloud hosting deal

2 weeks ago | publictechnology.net | Sam Trendall

NHS England has signed a £500m-plus deal to cover its cloud hosting needs over a potential term of five years. The deal – awarded to IT reseller Softcat – came into effect on 21 March. The Buckinghamshire-headquartered company has been a key cloud partner to the NHS form some time, having provided consolidated “public cloud cost management services” via a multimillion-pound deal first signed in 2019.
Starmer: ‘AI releases individuals to be more human’

2 weeks ago | publictechnology.net | Jim Dunton

Keir Starmer has acknowledged that there are risks with the government’s plans to roll out artificial intelligence but has claimed that the technology “releases individuals to be more human”. The prime minister this week told a meeting of parliament’s Liaison Committee – which brings together the chairs of select committees – that it is crucial to seize the opportunities offered by increased digitisation.
Westminster plans £4m data platform to meet for ‘analytics, AI and personalisation goals’

2 weeks ago | publictechnology.net | Sam Trendall

Westminster City Council is embarking on a £4m project to implement a major new data system to support its ambitions to use artificial intelligence and personalised services. The central London authority has published a commercial notice outlining its intent “to develop its next generation, strategic data platform, to underpin its reporting, analytics, AI and personalisation goals”.
DfE alerted to more than 50 school ransomware attacks in past three years

2 weeks ago | publictechnology.net | Sam Trendall

The Department for Education has been alerted to more than 50 ransomware attacks suffered by schools and other institutions since 2022. According to early education minister Stephen Morgan, schools manage their own tech and security infrastructure and “there is currently no mandatory reporting requirement legislation for schools to report a cyberattack and no central register of cyberattacks” across the sector is kept by the department.