Digital, Data & Technology

The gov.uk website is to be adapted to ensure that the civil service communications profession can more easily use it to run campaigns, the government’s executive director for communications Alex Aiken (pictured below) has told Civil Service World.

The government should ditch paper altogether and rely on digital technology - unless face-to-face interaction is absolutely necessary for public service delivery - a report by think-tank Policy Exchange argues today.

New Zealand's civil service believes that their central government needs one single web portal. Their digital team write about how they’ve taken inspiration from gov.uk.

Of all the agendas set out last year in the government’s Civil Service Reform Plan, the fastest progress is being made on ‘digital by default’, a CSW survey has found. Over half (53%) of civil servants said their organisation is making rapid or steady progress on this agenda, and 55% said that the reform would 'dramatically' or 'significantly' improve the civil service.

Many civil servants work in the government analogue service

Andrew Dilnot, chair of the UK Statistics Authority, told the Public Administration Select Committee last week that he has written “six or seven” letters to departments complaining about the distortion of official statistics.

Officials should publish more freely; the media more carefully

Digital technology offers tremendous opportunities for people of all ages. Being able to buy groceries or access a huge amount of information at the click of a button is fantastic, as is the ability to keep in touch with loved ones via email, video link and social media. However, although the opportunities offered online are immense, there are real challenges for some when it comes to getting digitally connected in the first place.

The development of new ICT procurement frameworks by the Government Procurement Service (GPS) has been “paused” while a review is undertaken to ensure they’re offering the best value for money.

The new head of the Welsh Civil Service, Derek Jones, will take up his position on 8 October after a four year hiatus from the civil service. He replaces Dame Gillian Morgan, who retired in August. Jones was the director of business and partnerships at Cardiff University, and prior to this role he spent 30 years as a civil servant, including as a senior director.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude has said that the civil service is moving away from an “old-fashioned” culture of “presenteeism”, and argued that remote working can increase productivity.