Innovation and Efficiency

Councils invited to apply for Local Digital Fund

19.08.19: Councils are now open to apply for the next round of digital funding to improve public services, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced. Utilising the Local Digital Fund, councils can look to secure funding...

Applications open for £30m industrial digital technologies funding

26.07.19: Businesses are able to apply for a share of £30m funding to support project that use digital technology to improve productivity and agility within UK manufacturing. The Made Smarter Review 2017, commissioned by the UK government, esti...

Defra appoints Oxford professor as new chief scientist

12.07.19: Gideon Henderson has been appointed by Defra as its new chief scientific advisor. Henderson, who is currently a professor of earth sciences at the University of Oxford, will join Defra in October in this year. He replaces the out-going...

Councils featured in Government’s £135m health research fund

11.07.19: Local authorities are set to play a key role in the newly announced £135m government investment into health research, which looks to bring together partnerships to better tackle a range of problems. Health minister Nicola Blackwood an...

Government to invest £40m in electric vehicle infrastructure and wireless charging

09.07.19: The government is investing nearly £40m in infrastructure for electric vehicles including wireless charging systems. The funding is to be split across 12 projects which will “transform” electric chargepoint infrastructure...

New guidance for academy trusts to ‘crack down on excessive executive pay’

09.07.19: New guidance for setting executive pay has been published by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), suggesting trusts must be prepared to cut pay in cases of poor management. The new guidance sets out key factors that should be use...

Achieving sustainable place prosperity

05.07.19: Since our major employers and the places and communities they are based in have a deeply inter-connected relationship, bosses and place-leaders should work together to upskill local people to meet the demands of an ever-changing workplace, argue...

Next phase of competition to predict cyber threats launched with £850k funding

04.07.19: The second phase of the Predictive Cyber Analytics competition has been launched by the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) in order to help develop a deployable solution to predict and counter future cyber threats. This competition is...

Princess Anne officially opens £30m Sellafield education campus in Cumbria

04.07.19: Campus Whitehaven, Sellafield’s largest ever community investment, has been officially opened by HRH Princess Anne. The Princess Royal unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening of the site, which houses St Benedict’s Roman...

Government procurement framework G-Cloud 11 goes live with 4,200 suppliers

02.07.19: G-Cloud 11, a new major government procurement framework is set to go live featuring over 4,200 suppliers. The latest G-Cloud framework has now been awarded, and will go on the government’s Digital Marketplace imminently. Around...

Universities to strike Northern Powerhouse alliance to create ‘Ivy League of the North’

01.07.19: All of the 28 universities across the north of England are to forge an alliance and create a plan of action to drive the Northern Powerhouse agenda forward. The unprecedented move is a direct response to the Northern Powerhouse minister Jak...

Zero-waste economies positive for cities and people, says report

28.06.19: A report by Circle Economy shows that cities which encourage circular economy practises, such as repairing and recycling, bring in investment and new jobs. The analysis explores how local authorities in 43 European cities support the circul...

Highways England trial fully electric powered roadworks vehicles

28.06.19: Two fully electric powered roadworks vehicles are being trialled by Highways England for the first time, the company announced. One of the vehicles is being used across the East Midlands and the other on a major scheme which is improving th...

LGA praise councils for sharing services which save over £1bn

27.06.19: Councils across the UK are sharing services to cut down on costs that save the taxpayer over £1.3bn, a report from council leader shows. The Local Government Association (LGA) hailed the initiative from 626 partnerships as a success. ...

techUK's Henry Rex: Fostering industry and government collaboration

26.06.19: Efforts to improve public sector access to the capabilities and expertise contained within the SME community are continuing at pace. Henry Rex, head of public sector/central government programmes at techUK, discusses the difficulties for busines...