| | |
MPs and Peers founded PITCOM in 1981 to provide a bridge between Parliament and the IT industry. The Committee is an associate Parliamentary Group, complying with House of Commons rules for all-party groups. Its administration is funded by members' annual subscriptions.
PITCOM addresses the public policy issues generated by ICT and their application across the public and private sectors of the UK economy. |
|
Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury and a former Treasurer of the Parliamentary Information Technology Committee (PITCOM) was guest of honour at PITCOM’s summer reception on the House of Lords Terrace on 23rd June 2009. The evening was hosted by the Earl of Erroll, and kindly sponsored by Motorola.
Left to right:
Rt Hon Alun Michael MP, PITCOM Council member
Christine Stewart Munro, PITCOM Administrative Secretary
Andrew Miller MP, PITCOM Chairman
Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Graeme Hobbs, Chairman of Motorola
The Earl of Erroll, Host
Nigel Fine, Chief Executive of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
|
• 
Ministry of Justice curbs consultancy spend by 50%
by Jon Wilcox
10 Mar 2010 at 11:07am
Outlay on external consultancy by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was successfully slashed from £10.5m in 2008-09 compared to £20.7m the previous year – with Accenture's share falling from £15.5m to just £3.9m. read more
• 
£26m ICT boost for Liverpool school kids
by Jon Wilcox
10 Mar 2010 at 10:46am
In another milestone for the ongoing Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, Liverpool City Council today announced it will spend £26m on provision of ICT at 24 secondary schools in the city. read more
• 
Southwark rejects Google in Web map deal
by Jon Wilcox
10 Mar 2010 at 10:21am
Southwark Council has launched special mapping functionality on its website in a bid to help citizens get a better graphical understanding of their local environment and understand what services may be relevant to them. read more
• 
Lib Dems deny Digital Economy change would block social media
by Jon Wilcox
9 Mar 2010 at 3:31pm
The Government’s Digital Economy Bill continues to wallow in controversy, thanks to a new amendment that opponents say would see sites such as YouTube blocked from UK web users, something denied by amendment proponents, the Liberal Democrats. The Bill’s third and final reading in the House of Lords is due to take place on 15 March, and marks the last time amendments can be made before it’s transferred to the Commons. It is expected to pass into law before Parliament is dissolved at the start of April, ahead of a likely election in May. read more
• 
MPs: Government DNA policy ?unacceptable?
by Jon Wilcox
9 Mar 2010 at 3:12pm
Policy on the status of DNA data being held on the UK police database has been slammed by MPs, after the influential House of Commons Home Affairs Select committee described government plans to delete such data after six years as “unacceptable”. read more
• 
HP IT staff still on the picket line
by Jon Wilcox
9 Mar 2010 at 3:03pm
Day two today of the first walkout by civil servants since 1987 was expected to bring further disruption, though estimates of how many public sector staff were actually participating vary between unions and employers. Members of the PCS (Public and Commercial Services) Union are striking over proposed government changes in redundancy arrangements, which they say will leave many of their lower paid (under £20,000) staff worse off. read more
• 
Indian services giant picks up UK pensions contract unchallenged (updated)
by admin
9 Mar 2010 at 12:53pm
Indian IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services TCS) has been chosen to administer Britain's new national pension scheme as the signing of a contract is rushed through prior to the general election. The duration of the contract, awarded by Personal Accounts Delivery Authority for the UK-wide pension National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) , is for 10 years with a possible extension for another five years. read more
• 
Improvement East embarks on spend analysis project
by Jon Wilcox
9 Mar 2010 at 11:14am
Improvement East, the Regional and Improvement Partnership (RIEP) for the East of England, has announced a spend analysis project, looking at 41 district and borough councils including Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex. read more
• 
UK?s position in research ?under threat?
by Jon Wilcox
9 Mar 2010 at 9:56am
The Council for Science and Technology (CST), the quango tasked with advising the Prime Minister and heads of the devolved governments on sustaining and developing science, engineering, and technology, has issued a strong warning for the UK Government to “adopt a clear long term vision for support for the research base, and for deriving economic and social benefits from that investment.” read more
• 
UK population's poor IT skills offered boost
by Jon Wilcox
8 Mar 2010 at 5:21pm
Training provider learndirect last week launched a campaign to improve our national IT literacy, in a move it says supports Labour’s drive to boost the Digital Economy agenda. read more
|
• Up in Smoke - Smokers urged to 'Put it Out, Right Out' on No Smoking Day 10 March
10 Mar 2010 at 12:01am
Smokers are today (10 March) being urged to quit their habit or realise its danger, as statistics reveal that a third of those who die in accidental house fires, die in fires started by cigarettes.1
• Shahid Malik meets President of the Transitional Federation Government of Somalia
9 Mar 2010 at 12:36pm
Communities Minister Shahid Malik today met with Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, President of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia.
• New award to honour british heroes of the holocaust
9 Mar 2010 at 10:51am
Britons who saved the lives of Jews and other persecuted groups during the Holocaust are to be honoured for their actions.
• Healey: Green overhaul for planning system to cut emissions and bills
9 Mar 2010 at 10:21am
- Progress by councils using eco-town standards for future development -
• Healey: £83 million backing for first time buyers and housebuilding jobs
8 Mar 2010 at 12:36pm
Housing Minister John Healey has today announced £83 million to get building over 5,700 new and affordable homes stalled by the recession back on track.
• FS50242131
5 Mar 2010 at 11:30am
The complainant requested the exact salary details for various senior management posts within the North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (NYFRS) between 2004 and 2009. The council refused to disclose this citing section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. It said that the information was the managers? personal data and processing it would be unfair. However, it did point out that £10,000 salary bands were already published for these posts which it believed represented a reasonable balance of the legitimate public interest in the use of public funds and the individuals? right to privacy. Following negotiations with the Commissioner, North Yorkshire Council (the council) on behalf of NYFRS agreed to disclose the salary bands of the management posts concerned in increments of £5,0...
• FS50237119
5 Mar 2010 at 11:26am
The complainant made a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the ?Act?) to the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority (MHRA) for information it had redacted from pages 9 to 31 of an Assessment Report setting out the findings of a study conducted on the issue of mortality rates in Linezolid treated patients. The MHRA refused to disclose the requested information upon reliance of the exemptions contained at sections 40(2) and 41(1) of the Act. The Commissioner considers that the MHRA correctly applied the exemption contained at section 41(1) of the Act to withhold the requested information. As the Commissioner found that section 41(1) of the Act was correctly engaged he did not go on to consider the MHRA?s application of section 40(2) of the Act. The Commissioner does...
• FS50227053
5 Mar 2010 at 11:22am
The complainant requested copies of the citations for ten individuals who had been awarded the King?s Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom. The Cabinet Office argued that this information was exempt from disclosure on the basis of section 23(1) of the Act. The Commissioner has concluded that in the circumstances of this case section 23(1) does provide a basis for withholding the information requested by the complainant.
• FS50227348
5 Mar 2010 at 11:08am
The complainant requested the answers volunteered by serving judges in 1998 and those subsequently appointed on the issue of Masonic membership. The public authority applied section 40(2) to this information because it explained that processing the data in this way would not accord with the first data protection principle as it would be unfair. It also explained that it believed this information was sensitive personal data and that there were no relevant schedule 3 conditions. The public authority upheld its position in its internal review. The Commissioner has determined that he does not believe that the information constitutes sensitive personal data. He has found that the disclosure of the information would accord with the first data protection principle and would not contravene any ...
• FS50216168
5 Mar 2010 at 10:46am
The complainant requested information from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about the tax categories of people for whom security is a higher priority. HMRC refused the request citing the exemptions at sections 23 (information supplied by, or relating to, bodies dealing with security matters), 36 (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) and 38 (health and safety). During the course of the Commissioner?s investigation, HMRC additionally cited sections 40 (personal information) and 44 (prohibitions on disclosure) in relation to some of the withheld information. The Commissioner has investigated and found that the exemptions at sections 23 and 44 are engaged in relation to some of the withheld information. As the information withheld under section 40 was also withheld under section 4...
|
• BCS calls on young people to participate in the political process
10 Mar 2010 at 9:21am
• Latest e-skills Bulletin shows green shoots appearing towards the end of 2009
9 Mar 2010 at 12:00am
The latest e-skills Bulletin shows that while the UK remained in recession during the third quarter of 2009, green shoots were starting to appear within the ICT sector.
• Time to secure software
8 Mar 2010 at 11:36am
There is a growing recognition among businesses as well as consumers of the role that insecure software plays in their vulnerability to data loss and fraud.
• CEO welcomes e-skills UK plans to enable the information society
8 Mar 2010 at 9:30am
• Managing people, policies and privacy
5 Mar 2010 at 4:56pm
Preventing data loss is as much about how you manage people as it is about setting up the right policies, says Andy Baldin, Vice President, EMEA, LANDesk Software.
• BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT collects prize for new website
3 Mar 2010 at 12:41pm
• e-skills UK backs government drive to get 7.5 million more people online
3 Mar 2010 at 12:00am
The government has set a target to get 60% of the 12.5 million people who are not online in the UK, online in the next four years. The target underpins a new drive to reduce the digital divide in the government's National Digital Participation Plan
• Savvy citizenship
2 Mar 2010 at 12:10pm
BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, has launched the Citizenship topic of the Savvy Citizens campaign, with lots of interest. The Institute believes that the digital divide will be reinforced in the run-up to the election unless citizens are made aware of the wealth of information available, and how to access, use and manage it.
• Jimmy Wales looks to the future in video interview with BCS
1 Mar 2010 at 10:46am
• BCS CEO Calls on Parents to Encourage Interest in IT
1 Mar 2010 at 9:52am
|
|
|
| | | |
|
