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HMRC issues CD-Rom alert to employers

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:13:48 GMT

HM Revenue and Customs has warned employers that use its Employer CD-Rom to update it immediately to avoid miscalculations

The department said it is important for employers to carry out the free update as it will ensure that they have the most recent guidance and calculators.

"I encourage all employers who use our CD-Rom to download the update as soon as possible, and also register for our email alert service, to ensure they receive all the latest employer news," said Stephen Banyard, director of HMRC's business customer unit.

HMRC also disclosed that it will be replacing the CD-Rom with a new downloadable application, Basic PAYE Tools, in February 2011.

Government fishes for ID ideas

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:05:00 GMT

Directgov has asked IT suppliers to come up with new thinking on identity verification

The team, which is now within the Cabinet Office, has issued a pre-tender notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union, saying that it wants feedback on potential requirements for the public sector on all aspects of identity verification and authentication. This is particularly relevant to online and telephone channels, and the notice says the services include the provision of related software and computer services.

Any accreditation process would have to be based on defined policies and standards, but the commercial basis on which the service would be provided is still to be determined.

The notice also makes the point that it is outlining current thinking but will not bind any future procurement, and that if one does take place it may involve supplier conferences to discuss the nature and extent of available services.

It is notable that the move comes after the termination of plans for a national identity card, although Stephen Roberts, research director at Kable, suggested that the move could be down to a desire to develop an authentication mechanism that would encourage higher public take-up than the Government Gateway.

He said: "Whether the Government Gateway is to be replaced or enhanced, the barriers to joined up public sector identity management are political rather than technical. Similarly, this broad appeal to suppliers for feedback may reflect to new approach to procurement as much as a hunger for innovation."

Met Police extends payroll deal

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:59:32 GMT

The Metropolitan Police has agreed a three year extension to its contract with Logica for payroll and pensions administration

As part of the deal, valued at £10m, the company plans to introduce electronic payslips, overtime and expenses slips across the force. It said this is part of a plan to introduce more self-service systems.

Logica's partner Xafinity Paymaster will manage the pensions administration service.

Norman Baldwin, Logica's UK business process outsourcing director, said: "Through the provision of a flexible platform we have been able to continue to innovate in the services that we provide to continue to reduce the cost of delivery and increase value for money and enable a more dynamic and efficient HR function to deliver greater strategic value."

The original contract was signed in 2005.

Westminster seeks support services deal

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:22:31 GMT

Westminster City Council has published a tender worth up to £1m for the provision of maintenance and support services for its information management system

According to a notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 31 August 2010, the one year deal will include the hosting and maintenance of the hardware and software.

The council said it is looking for a "relatively short term contract" after the current support services deal for its system, which uses Oracle's enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, expires in April 2011. The chosen supplier will also be expected to provide application software, process BACS and cheque payments, and problem resolution.

"Also, an annual disaster recovery exercise will be performed, with robust procedures established to recover the council's data in the event of system failure. After implementation, the supplier will provide systems management and administration, including both technical information technology and application software support," Westminster said.

The council hopes that the a one year extension option will provide the necessary flexibility to ensure that the end date of the deal is aligned with the start date of its new integrated ERP system, which will be delivered during 2012.

"The timescales for full implementation are short and the contractor must be able to provide the resources required to ensure that the implementation of a fully operational Westminster information management system is achieved," the council added.

DoH retains NHS Direct online

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:02:21 GMT

The Department of Health has said there are no immediate plans to drop the NHS Direct web service, despite signalling the end of telephone consultations

It has issued a statement saying that the site, which provides a first stop for medical advice, will remain in operation while the government reviews the wider use of information in the health service.

This follows the confirmation that it plans to replace the NHS Direct telephone consultation service with the 111 telephone line.

A DoH spokesperson said: "Following the publication of the white paper Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, a further consultation on the NHS information strategy will inform how patients and the public will be able to access online information and services in the future. In the meantime, online services provided by NHS Choices, NHS Direct and local NHS organisations will continue to support other NHS services."

This followed reports that the department is planning to replace the NHS Direct telephone helpline. Health secretary Andrew Lansley said at the weekend that the service, which costs over £120m a year to run, is to be axed in favour of the new 111 service.

Following this, the DoH issued a statement that said: "The NHS 111 telephone number will eventually replace NHS Direct when it is rolled out nationally and will provide a single point of access for all urgent care services. This has never been available before but makes real sense."

It went on to claim: "This is not a cost cutting exercise, but is about providing a better service to patients. We want to put an end to the confusion over what services are available when and where, and provide people with two simple numbers: 999 for emergencies, 111 for everything else."

The move has attracted criticism as the 111 service will be staffed primarily by non-specialist call advisers, whereas NHS Direct uses qualified nurses.

The DoH launched the pilots for 111 in County Durham and Darlington at the beginning of last week. According to a report in The Guardian, it has just one nurse on duty for referrals with up to 25 operators at each of the two call centres used in the pilot.

Further pilots are due to begin later in the year in Nottingham, Lincolnshire and Luton.

Cabinet Office renews Fast Stream deal

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:28:10 GMT

The Cabinet Office has maintained its deal with Parity Solutions for the management of the Civil Service Fast Stream recruitment process

The contract reflects the service provided by the company since 2003, including running the online portal for applications and the ongoing management of related processes with the help of candidate tracking software.

A spokesperson for the company told GC News the new deal, which will run until December 2012, has been signed on the expiry of the previous contract. Its value has not been disclosed.

There are about 30,000 applications each year under the Fast Stream process. The programme for 2011 will open on 20 September.

SQA seeks e-marking 'update'

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:51:27 GMT

The Scottish Qualifications Authority is looking to improve its online marking by purchasing a new 'tried and tested' service

A tender notice in the Official Journal of the European Union on 27 August 2010, says the SQA needs a comprehensive system that would include software and document management functions.

The successful supplier will also provide remote training and support for users.

A spokesperson for Scotland's national accreditation and awarding body said it wants to "update" the existing system.

"The envisaged enhanced system would, of necessity, mean less actual script handling and movement leading to greater efficiency, less risk, and would further enhance the quality assurance aspect of the marking process," he said.

"If it is decided to proceed then it would be a few years before any new system would be employed."

Over the five year life of the contract, the authority estimates that the cost of the service will be between £4m and £6m.

Since 2004 the SQA has been using multiple choice tests which are marked electronically. In addition, rather than using the paper script completed by candidates, since 2007 it has been supplying markers with scanned electronic images of a candidate's written response.

Government invites ideas on airport security

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:28:50 GMT

The Home Office is running a programme aimed at using technology to improve airport security

It has posted a notice on its website asking for ideas from businesses, academics or students on how to improve security, and has teamed up with defence electronics supplier Thales to test any plans.

The project is being run by the government's Instinct (Innovation in Science and Technology in Counter Terrorism) programme. It has set up a review board to examine suggestions and select a number to demonstrate the technology in simulated and live environments.

Thales has contracted airport security specialist Human Recognition Systems to help the demonstrators deal with the airport environment. The latter company's communications manager, Cheryle Wilkinson, told GC News that the deadline for submissions is 10 September 2010, and that the demonstrations will take place during December and be complete by the following month.

Minister for security Baroness Neville-Jones said: "The threat to our security is real and is evolving, and technology can play a key role in reducing that threat. This project shows how the government is working with industry to find those innovative and emerging technologies."

Survey shows support for road charging

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:05:00 GMT

A Department for Transport survey has found that more than half of UK adults believe that road charging should be based on usage

The finding is revealed in the DfT's survey of public attitudes to road congestion, published on 26 August 2010.

Over four in five adults thought that congestion was a serious problem for the UK and nine in 10 said that it was important for the government to tackle the problem.

Any road charging scheme, the most high profile example of which is London's congestion charge, would involve the heavy use of IT for identifying vehicles and tracing their owners.

Almost half of adults said that money raised from a road charging should be spent solely on roads and transport while over one in 10 maintained that they did not agree with it under any circumstances.

When asked whether they would be prepared to accept road pricing as long as there was no overall increase in the amount paid by motorists as a whole, 38% agreed while 34% disagreed. Two years ago, 41% agreed and 35% disagreed.

"The department uses opinion surveys to provide up-to-date and reliable information on public attitudes to transport issues," said a DfT spokesperson.

"It has ruled out for the duration of this Parliament national road pricing on existing roads and any preparation for such schemes beyond that time.

"But for new infrastructure the government will consider all options for funding, including private sector investment and tolling."

The coalition's agreement said that it would work towards the introduction of a new system of HGV road user charging, which it believes will ensure a fairer arrangement for UK hauliers.

The department questioned 2,798 people about road charging between November 2009 and February 2010.

Auditor calls on NHS to improve payments coding

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 10:49:01 GMT

The Audit Commission has said there are still problems with the data used to assess more than £200m of payments under the NHS's Payments by Results scheme

In a report published on 26 August 2010, the commission says it has identified some £9m of financial errors due to incorrect clinical coding used to identify how NHS trusts are paid for treatment.

The errors are most relevant to data on health resource groups (HRGs), which bring together clinically similar treatments that are judged to consumer a similar amount of resources.

The situation has improved, however. "When we started the audits in 2007-08, on average, 16.5% of diagnosis and procedures were not accurately coded," says the document. "In 2009-10, on average, 11.3% of diagnosis and procedure coding was inaccurate."

Despite the overall improvement, the actual error rate for the HRG increased in 2009-10 because most Payment by Results tariffs moved to new and more complex set of Health Resource Groups, known as HRG4.

Over the past three years the commission has carried out random sample audits on four specialities - general medicine, trauma and orthopaedics, cardiology and paediatrics - at all trusts that deliver them.

The commission has estimated that £1bn of the £21bn expenditure, or 5%, in these four specialties was paid on the wrong HRG between 2007-08 and 2009-10.

Nationally, primary care trusts were not over or undercharged for the work, however, because the average net financial error rate is less than 0.5% in the four specialities audited.

The report goes on to say that, despite the overall improvement in clinical coding, there are significant variations between the best and worst performing trusts. HRG error rates range between 0 and 28% and the clinical coding error rate range is similar.

Its key recommendations for improvement are:
- regular internal audits on clinical coding and the quality of outpatient data;
- clinical coders to be well trained and follow national standards;
- clinicians to be engaged in improving the accuracy of inpatient and outpatient data;
- up to date policies and procedures for data quality; and
- source documentation to be of a good quality, accurate and readily accessible to those inputting data.

"Our work has highlighted problems in the consistency and interpretation of national guidance and definitions that affect data quality," says the commission. "We will work this year on specific data definition issues with the NHS and key partners to look at how these can be resolved."

Norfolk councils share IT services

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:05:00 GMT

Great Yarmouth BC and Norfolk CC have combined ICT services under plans to save £1m over five years

Great Yarmouth's IT systems and infrastructure will be managed by Norfolk, with the borough council's current staff moving over to the county council's ICT team, the authorities have said.

Great Yarmouth believes that the joining up ICT services with Norfolk is "the most resilient and cost effective way" to provide services to people living in the borough. The savings that are made will be spent on improving Great Yarmouth's IT infrastructure.

"People quite rightly expect to be able to access services at times that are convenient to them and whether it be the technology that staff work from to deliver the service to the public, or the technology that allows the public to access the service directly themselves, the infrastructure has to be as resilient as possible in order for that service to work effectively," said Barry Stone, Great Yarmouth's deputy leader.

"Sharing the county council's networks and technology, and the pooling of expertise of staff from both councils, will make the borough council more resilient."

Norfolk said that the arrangement shows a willingness to "deliver value for money" and could open up possibilities for the future sharing of other services between the councils.

Ofsted highlights child data sharing weakness

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:05:00 GMT

England's education watchdog has found that councils are not making the best use of a national IT system to identify children missing from school

A survey by Oftsted found that the School to School system, which includes a "lost pupil" database, was not being used consistently by local authorities' children's services departments.

As a result, the system set up by the former Department for Children, Schools and Families has been less effective than intended.

The Children Missing from Education survey examined the effectiveness of 15 local authorities in helping 14-18 year olds who are missing from education.

The document, published on 17 August 2010, reveals that all the children's services departments surveyed said they were hampered by the limitations of national systems for exchanging information about children moving between areas.

In order to overcome this problem, they had all worked with other council departments and had made links with other agencies. But the extent and effectiveness of the exchange of information varied from one authority to another.

"While various agencies had partial knowledge, none of the children's services departments felt confident that it knew about all the children living in its area in order to fulfill its safeguarding duties fully," says Ofsted.

The best councils placed great emphasis on extensive work across different agencies. In five cases the local authority and health professionals were closely and systematically involved in identifying children who were not receiving any education.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education told GC News: "It is vital that all local authorities learn from the best and local services work together to ensure children are learning and are kept safe.

"All schools – including academies and independent schools - should work closely with health services, the police and the local authority to keep pupils safe and receiving a suitable education."

Maudsley tags mentally ill offenders

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:05:00 GMT

The South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust is using satellites to track psychiatric patients with criminal convictions

The launch follows a successful 12 month pilot project in which 35 mentally ill patients at River House, a medium secure psychiatric unit at the Bethlem Royal Hospital in Beckenham, took part.

The unit now has 60 devices and plans to use the system on more patients over the coming months.

"We started using the system last year and increased the service in March, but we needed to make sure that everything had bedded in before announcing its use," a spokesperson for the Maudsley told SmartHealthcare.com.

The patients have been detained after committing a range of offences including violent crimes, arson and anti-social behaviour. They are being fitted with ankle tags linked by satellite to a control room, which alerts the hospital when a patient goes to an area they're excluded from, or is away for too long.

The system can measure whether the tracking device, and therefore the patient, is moving and at what speed. In addition, the ankle tag vibrates to remind a patient when they are nearing the end of their allotted time away from hospital.

The pilot showed that the system led to fewer leave related problems, as the trust can identify the patient's whereabouts and re-establish contact quickly. It also enabled the trust to increase the leave given to River House patients.

"Graduated leave, with increasing degrees of freedom as patients recover, is an important therapeutic process that aids re-skilling and social reintegration of people who have been in hospital, often for long periods of time," said the spokesperson. "Technology is an added assurance to a rigorous clinical and risk assessment process."

The system was developed by Buddi and each device, including straps, costs £374, plus £50 per month per device for monitoring. The spokesperson added: "We think the system will cut the costs of searching for patients who have absconded."

One of the patients who used the device while at River House said that it had helped to keep him "more safe". He now lives in a hostel after 13 years in secure hospitals following a conviction for arson.

"If I was to have an accident of any kind it would be easier to pick me up," said the patient, although he added that the tracker was uncomfortable when worn for long periods, and that: "Sometimes it makes you feel a bit childish... almost labeled."

Brent launches online homeless database

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:29:38 GMT

LB Brent has launched a new online referral system that aims to prevent people from being unnecessarily evicted from their homes

The Start Plus online database allows anyone in the borough who thinks they may be at risk of losing their home to instantly submit an online application for support from council staff.

Once staff have received a request they can then assess the type of help needed and provide assistance as soon as possible. This could be anything from temporary support from an outreach worker to a move to new accommodation.

Brent hopes that the database, which is being launched by its housing and community care department, will provide staff with an "at-a-glance" view of all the types of help available from partner support agencies within the area.

It will also provide council employees with a page showing all of the vacancies in supported accommodation throughout the borough, should that become an option.

A spokesperson for Brent told GC News that the Start Plus system was developed by Locata Housing Services and is hosted on its database.

"The new database will ensure that online applications are received immediately upon submission into our database. This cuts out the admin and postal delays and ensures that support can reach the residents more quickly. The Locata database is web-based so our providers do not need to subscribe to any expensive software," she said.

"The database was designed from scratch based on the different work transactions involved in the referral process. One of the advantages of the database is both Start Plus and support providers are able to access the applications and pages at the same. We can also monitor the progress of the application once it has left our office."

Home Office unveils new UK passport

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:31:33 GMT

The Home Office has said that new UK passports with 'strengthened security features' will be issued from October

To make the passports more secure, the chip which stores the holder's details has been moved to the inside of the passport cover so it will no longer be visible, the Home Office said.

The new 10 year passport will also have a transparent covering which will display several holograms to protect the holder's personal details, and a secondary image of the holder printed onto the observations page.

"Through its combination of physical and electronic security features, the UK passport remains one of the most secure and trusted documents in the world, meeting rigorous international standards," said Sarah Rapson, chief executive of the Identity and Passport Service.

"The new design is part of our strategy to stay ahead of criminals who look to fraudulently alter or copy passports."

Other new security features include images of well known UK scenes that will be created through special printing techniques, "which will give UK citizens added protection from identity theft and fraud and ensure speedier travel across borders".

As part of the redesign, the personal details page of the passport will be moved to the second page in the passport booklet. The Home Office hopes that this will help speed up travellers' passage through border controls.

The new passport will replace the current UK ePassport, which was upgraded in 2006 with the addition of an electronic chip to hold the owner's details.

De La Rue will take over the contract for passport production in October 2010 when the current contract expires. The value of the 10 year contract is £400m.