King's speech highlights, DSIT expansion, New GDS CEO

In this month's edition of the Digital Government News roundup, we look at key bills and digital initiatives mentioned in the recent King's Speech, the expanding remit of DSIT, and a fascinating blog on how AI is improving fisheries management. All this and more in our monthly update...

In this edition…

?? King's speech highlights: The recent King's Speech mentioned a few things that will impact digital government. A new Digital Information and Smart Data Bill to "enable more and better digital public services" was mentioned.

"By making changes to the Digital Economy Act we will help the Government share data about businesses that use public services. We will move to an electronic system for the registration of births and deaths. And we will apply information standards to IT suppliers in the health and social care system," said the briefing paper published alongside the speech.??

The government also announced the new Cyber Security and Resilience Bill to "strengthen the UK's cyber defences, ensure that critical infrastructure and the digital services that companies rely on are secure." The National Cyber Security Centre said the bill "will be a crucial step towards a more effective regulatory regime in the sector."

The Renters’ Rights Bill proposes a digital private rented sector database that would combine key information for landlords, tenants, and councils.?

“Tenants will be able to access information to inform choices when entering new tenancies. Landlords will be able to quickly understand their obligations and demonstrate compliance, providing certainty for tenants and landlords alike. Councils will be able to use the database to target enforcement where it is needed most,” said the briefing note.?

Zaizi played an important role in this project’s initial phases, undertaking an in-depth discovery exploring the case for a national landlord register.

• Check out our new report on how the new Labour government can avoid the policy-delivery gap

?? DSIT expansion: Since the election, the new administration has expanded the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to include Government Digital Service (GDS), Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), and Incubator for AI (i.AI). The move aims to consolidate digital transformation efforts for public services under DSIT, positioning it as the government's central digital hub.

???? New GDS CEO: Following the recent departure of Tom Read , the Government Digital Service has appointed Christine Bellamy as CEO. Previously, she held the position of Director of GOV.UK.

?? AI action plan: New UK Science Secretary, Peter Kyle, has commissioned an Action Plan to identify how AI can drive economic growth and deliver better outcomes for people across the country.

?? NHS and AI: Sticking with AI, NHS England is using an AI-powered moderation tool for comments on the NHS.UK website.

?? Public sector spending: The Social Market Foundation estimates ￡300 million in public sector waste on software licensing over the next 5 years due to restrictive rules. Interviews with public sector IT professionals show that software licensing rules make it harder to move between providers, locking departments into costly contracts.

?? London IoT declaration: Finally, several public authorities in London, including the Greater London Authority (GLA), have written a plan — the Draft London IoT Declaration - for collecting and using data from from internet of things (IoT) sensors.

What else you need to know…

?? A fascinating look at how the application of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithms help improve sustainable fisheries management. Rebecca Lamb explains.?

?? The Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) team has been working with partners across government to learn about the value AI tools can bring to their support for businesses. Jamie Laing , Anthony Coyne , Will Langdale and Martina Sungaila Marjanovic Marjanovic share their thoughts.

?? The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) launched its One IPO Transformation Programme in 2021 — the largest service upgrade in its 170-year history. Jenny Manders Chart.PR., MCIPR and David Jenkins discuss the recent milestone: processing the first patent application through the new fully digital service. Watch the video below.

?? Policy Lab celebrates 10 years of bringing new methods into government policymaking, with Kyna Gourley and Vanessa Lefton shining a lens on its use of ethnography in that period. Watch the film to learn more

?? Rob Thomlinson and Martin O'Brian discuss how the Office for National Statistics is updating its website search with natural language processing to provide users with richer search results and increase the probability of finding what they're looking for.

?? Matthew Thomas explains how HM Land Registry digital services are helping to make registration faster.

And finally…

The importance of offline capabilities to critical public sector services: Lead service designer Sam Gormley examines how the seemingly simple offline capabilities can help public sector organisations deliver essential services, even during disruptions.

What is a cross-domain workflow and why does it matter? James Patrick gives an overview of cross-domain workflows and how they allow data to be securely collected from less secure devices and transmitted to high-side storage. He also digs into the details of how to design thoughtful and secure cross-domain workflows.

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