8987posts
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Investment backs six pioneering projects to grow the UK's climate services sector
The UK Space Agency has concluded its latest Climate Services Call, supporting six pioneering projects with a combined investment of £380,000 to accelerate the growth of the UK’s climate services sector.
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ADOPT Fund: upcoming application deadlines
If you’re considering applying for support through the latest rounds of the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) Fund, this is a reminder that application deadlines are approaching.
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Misleading reporting of Spectrum Building resident payouts
There has been inaccurate media reporting suggesting former residents of Spectrum Building in Dagenham are being made to pay for the building’s fire safety works. This is not true. Since the fire in August 2024, the building’s freeholder has gone …
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Exploring a common architecture platform for local government
GDS Local’s sourcing the stack initiative is part of our commitment to co-create a vision for local government technology. We’ve been looking closely at how councils describe their technology to gain a better understanding of technical architecture across local government, and one of our findings …
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Coverage of Government response to Rycroft Review
This week we published our response to the independent Rycroft Review, commissioned to look into foreign financial influence and interference in UK democracy. We’re bringing in the recommendations to cap political donations of overseas electors at £100,000 a year and …
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What is Shigella? How do you catch it and how can it be avoided?
Shigella is a bacterial infection that can cause severe diarrhoea and stomach cramps. It's more common than many people realise and understanding how it spreads is key to protecting yourself and others. Here, we answer some of the most frequently asked questions relating to it.
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Why we are taking action on ‘less healthy’ food and drink
What is already in place What we are proposing The evidence
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A survey for the milk sector
The Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator is inviting people across the milk sector to complete a short survey on milk pricing and supply chain relationships. This will help to understand how the regulations are working and how the sector is responding to current conditions.
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NHS Pay Awards for 2026 and resident doctor strikes: everything you need to know
The Health and Social Care Secretary has accepted the recommendations of The Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration (DDRB) to confirm pay awards for 2026-27 for doctors and dentists. Recommendations were accepted in February for nurses, midwives and other NHS staff on the Agenda for Change contract. Here, we confirm what …
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Top ten tips for the launch of the IPO patent service
With the new IPO digital patents service due to launch soon, we want to make sure that your transition to the new live service goes as smoothly as possible. Here are our top ten tips for using the service.
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Bringing justice stakeholders together to improve services for court users
Over 75 stakeholders from our Public Engagement Groups recently came together for a day of collaboration and presentations, sharing invaluable feedback to help us improve services and ensure court users can access justice when they need it.
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The first meeting of the Farming and Food Partnership Board
The Farming and Food Partnership Board met for the first time yesterday, bringing together leaders from farming, food and retail.
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The new ILAP TDP: De-risking development by bringing early insights, predictability and improved coordination for developers
The refreshed Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) is setting a new global benchmark for accelerating patient access to transformative medicines in the UK. More than just a regulatory pathway, the ILAP is the first end-to-end access pathway that brings …
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Our biggest digital sustainability moment yet
Lydia Tabbron reflects on a recent event which marked a key milestone in our digital sustainability journey.
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A Rare Fungi Discovery at Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve: The First UK Sighting of the Blue-Based Earthtongue
By Liz Frost, frequent visitor and fungi specialist, with Rachel Guy, Kingley Vale NNR Reserve Manager In mid-December 2025, amateur fungi enthusiast Liz Frost made an extraordinary discovery at Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve in West Sussex — spotting a …
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Unlocking hidden value: how one school turns its spaces into £110,000 a year
Cressex Community School in High Wycombe has significant experience in hiring out its facilities, something it has been doing for more than 13 years, and it has gone from strength to strength. The school brings in around £110,000* each year …
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What’s changing on data.gov.uk and why
We have made some changes to data.gov.uk. We are genuinely excited to share what we have built, learning from how you use data.gov.uk and listening to how you want us to improve it. This is a beginning, not a finished …
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The First Five‑Year Evaluations of Strategic Licensing for Great Crested Newts
The first ever five-year evaluations of strategic licensing for great crested newts have just been published. This blog, written with NatureSpace Partnership, explores the successes so far and shows that the schemes are creating high‑quality habitat for great crested newts, …
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Consultation opens on nephrops fisheries management plans
The Scottish Government is consulting on two joint UK fisheries management plans for North Sea and West Coast nephrops. Have your say by 17 June 2026.
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Council Tax Levels Publication
Today, the government has published the council tax levels set by local authorities in England for 2026-27. This showed that the increase in the national average council tax will be less than the last three years. The average Band D …
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Take Stock and Unlock - the CPD programme that helped transform my literacy strategy
Stephanie Welsford, Senior Deputy Headteacher at Villiers High School, explains how Unlocking Reading allowed for a re-set in literacy strategy
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Unlocking England’s nature markets: a step forward for investment in the environment
Today, the Secretary of State brought together leading investors and major businesses for a roundtable to discuss three key publications that will help set the right conditions for investment to flow. Read this post to find out more.
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Using AI to analyse foreign-language audio: sharing our work at the GORS conference
Every year, large volumes of operational audio are reviewed across government systems. Some recordings are in foreign languages, making them difficult to analyse quickly and accurately. Last month, we shared our work exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) could help transcribe …
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Progress of the Cattle TB Vaccine Field Trials in GB - one step closer towards TB eradication
On World TB Day, APHA highlights progress in Phase 3 cattle TB vaccine trials, underscoring ongoing efforts to tackle bovine tuberculosis.
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Making home buying and selling faster with upfront data
Home Sale Pack joined the Geovation Accelerator Programme in 2024. The programme, backed by HM Land Registry and Ordnance Survey, provides start-ups with grant funding and 12 months of support, encouraging the innovative use of our data to benefit the property market, society and the economy.
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How we’re making strategic decisions based on the needs of businesses
Find out what we have learned as we take a more strategic view of user research insights to improve decision making and support businesses more meaningfully.
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Key takeaways from the GOTT Con 2026 fireside chat with Liam Brennan on how to build a business that thrives now and in the future
Author: Dr Maggie McGowan, Deputy Director, Capability and Partnerships, GOTT At GOTT Con last week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr Liam Brennan, Director at TE Magnetics, part of Tokamak Energy and a spinout from the UK …
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Coverage of high street funding and Pride in Place expansion announcements
There was significant coverage in the media on our announcements last week to name the areas benefitting through the expanded Pride in Place programme, transform high streets, fund play spaces in deprived communities, and reform the way public bodies work …
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Two years of MPA protection: reflecting on a milestone for England's marine protected areas
Two years ago we took a significant step towards healthier seas and a more sustainable future for our fishing industry. On 22 March 2024, new rules came into force prohibiting the use of bottom towed fishing gear across reef and rocky habitats in 13 English …
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Explainer: Seven new towns proposed - what it could mean for you
The government is proposing to build seven new towns across England to support the biggest housebuilding programme in over fifty years. This will help more people buy a home and live close to jobs and transport links. In addition, it is …
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Coverage of New Towns
Today, the government announced seven areas proposed as locations for New Towns as part of the most ambitious housebuilding programme in more than half a century. There has been positive widespread coverage of the announcement with The Timescalling the establishment …
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Leveraging Knowledge Assets for Growth: Highlights from the GOTT Conference 2026
Last week, we welcomed colleagues from across public sector research organisations to GOTT’s annual conference, also known as GOTT Con. The 2026 theme, Leveraging Knowledge Assets for Growth, explored how the insights, expertise and Knowledge Assets (KAs) that public sector …
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Improving regulation worldwide: our international role and why it matters
Protecting the environment in an interconnected world means looking beyond our own borders. Air pollution, climate change, emerging chemicals, radioactive substances and waste crime all present challenges that require shared expertise and harmonised regulatory action across countries. That's why the Environment Agency plays an active and increasing international role - sharing knowledge, learning from new …
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Transforming planning with PlanX and new funding to help local planning authorities reap the rewards
Local planning authorities are modernising planning services using open data. New software like PlanX is improving the experience for applicants, while back-office improvements are speeding up processing. New funding will help more authorities adopt tools and make improvements, freeing up planning teams to focus on delivering the homes communities need.
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Nadim’s story: teaching with purpose
From pupil to practitioner, Nadim Rahman reflects on returning to the school where he was educated and the profound impact of representation on student aspiration.
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From representation to revolution: Yamina’s fight for equity in education
From classroom teacher to national advocate, this is the story of Yamina Bibi's journey navigating identity, discrimination, and the transformative power of representation.
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Putting Libraries and Reading at the Heart of Council Priorities
2026 is The National Year of Reading! This UK-wide campaign is designed to inspire more people to make reading a regular part of their lives. Public libraries play a crucial role in promoting reading for pleasure and will continue to …
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Celebrating women in tech: Rama and Elizabeth’s stories
We recently sat down with 2 of our cyber security graduates, Rama and Elizabeth, to hear about their career journeys and experience in the graduate programme at DVLA.
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Landmark for Nature recovery receives the royal seal of approval
By Tony Juniper CBE, Chair of Natural England Nature recovery has taken a major step forward this week with the unveiling of one of the country’s most important National Nature Reserves by a long-standing champion of the natural world – His …
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Doing content-first design at Defra – part two
In the second part of their post, content designer Laura Parker and senior interaction designer Daniel Da Silveira show how they used a content-first approach to design features for the Defra form designer.