Data Policy Digest

Gavin Freeguard

Gavin Freeguard

Hello, and welcome to our 26th Data Policy Digest, bringing you all the latest data and AI policy developments.

We’ll forego the usual fun, folksy intro because DEAR GOD this is already too long (for a change, etc). A new Bill, a new advisory panel on the digital centre of government, lots on health data… To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, the only thing worse than there being far too much to talk about would be having nothing to talk about (he says, weeping into his computer keyboard).

If there’s something we’ve missed, something you’re up to that you’d like us to include next time or you have any thoughts on how useful the Digest is or could be, please get in touch via gavin@connectedbydata.org. We’re on Twitter @ConnectedByData, Bluesky @connectedbydata.bsky.social, and Mastodon @ConnectedByData@social.coop. You can also catch up on previous Digests.

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Contents

Data policy developments

What we’ve been up to

What everyone else has been up to

Events

Good reads

Data policy developments

Bills, bills, bills

Digital Information and Smart Data Bill (DISD)

NOW IS THE WINTER OF OUR DISD CONTENT.

(I was very pleased with that pun and I’m not going to let the fact that the Bill is now called something else stop me using it.)

Yes, the new Data Bill has been introduced to parliament, but with a new name - the Data (Use and Access) Bill. The DUAB (Dwab? Doo-wab?) got its first reading in the Lords on Wednesday 23 October, introduced by minister Baroness Jones. Despite reports it was coming, it didn’t actually appear in any listings of future business - totally normal country, etc - and was eventually published in full a few hours after its introduction. You can also read the explanatory notes, delegated powers memorandum (which justifies how it delegates powers, particularly to ministers), impact assessments on several elements (the Bill, the smart data provisions, the National Underground Asset Register, digital verification services, open data architecture information standards from DHSC and the new provisions on researchers’ access to data from social media platforms)

Oddly the government press release, New data laws unveiled to improve public services and boost UK economy by £10 billion, was embargoed until midnight on Thursday 24 October. DSIT published some factsheets along side it, too.

In short:

  • Part 1 of the Bill deals with Smart Data schemes (or ‘customer data and business data’), Part 2 with Digital Verification Services, Part 3 the National Underground Asset Register and Part 4 Registers of Births and Deaths - these were all in the previous government’s Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDIB)
  • Part 5 deals with ‘data protection and privacy’. Some of the proposals from DPDIB - such as doing away with data protection officers - have been dropped, but there are still some areas that caused controversy last time round (including automated decision making and ‘recognised legitimate interests’ which would reduce safeguards). Chapter 2 of this part deals with privacy and electronic communications, including cookies
  • Part 6 (with bits of part 5) would replace the Information Commissioner’s Office with an Information Commission (not hugely controversial) and place some new duties on it (a bit more controversial)
  • Part 7 deals with other provisions, some of which mark a return from DPDIB (information standards in health and social care, coroner access to children’s social media data, public service delivery for businesses as well as individuals) but some of which are new (researcher access to data from social media platforms - Ofcom have just launched a consultation on that - and smart meter communication service). Retention of biometric data returns but plans to abolish the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner do not.

In short, a lot of the less controversial bits of DPDIB have been retained; some things have gone from the data protection bits but there will still be concerns over mooted changes to automated decision making, legitimate interests and scientific research (among others) and the general use of secondary legislation by ministers; and there doesn’t seem to be anything (yet) on mooted changes to the use of health data (see the dedicated section under DSIT up and take notice, below).

Here are the news stories… Data bill will boost NHS and police access to data, says government (Computer Weekly)… The Data Use and Access Bill: How new laws may affect the way your data is handled (Sky News)… Yet another UK government seeks to reform GDPR (The Register)… New Data Bill proposed to ‘unlock’ data use in the public interest (Computing)… UK data bill starts journey to pave way for smart data initiatives (Global Government Fintech)… New UK data bill proposes dedicated digital ID office, biometrics retention changes (Biometric Update)…

And some guides and reaction… Data Protection reform right back on the agenda (Mishcon de Reya)… The Data (Use and Access) Bill: What’s changed and what remains from the DPDI Bill (techUK)… Statement in response to the introduction of the Data Use and Access Bill in the House of Lords (ICO)… Privacy campaigners raise concerns over Government’s new Data Bill (Big Brother Watch)… Data Use and Access Bill will fail to protect public from AI harms (ORG)… What are the main features of the Data (Use and Access) Bill? (Amberhawk)… Data Use and Access Bill: A fresh start for UK data policy (ODI)… New data bill: ‘Why the government must put marginalised communities at its heart’ (LabourList - and more from Rachel Coldicutt)… Nothing on a statutory fuel finder scheme (via Owen Boswarva).

Note also that the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes has launched, with a website and blog.

In the runup to the Bill being introduced, Peter Kyle spoke to the European Commission, while there were various stories and resources on smart data… Smart data isn’t just a buzzy phrase – it will revolutionise financial services sector (Smart Data)… UK Data Infrastructure: Smart Data (Icebreaker One)… Data spaces and data portability (Data Transfer Initiative)… Beware policymaking ‘drift’: ex-UK minister warns on smart data progress (Global Government Fintech)…

…on other bits of the Bill, such as OS named future operator of National Underground Asset Register (DSIT)… List of certified digital identity and attribute services (DSIT)… Biometric data: Misuse, use, and collation (POST)…

…on things people wanted to insert into the previous bill but aren’t in this one either, primarily… No, the Postcode Address File should not cost £487m (Peter Wells)… Whatever happened to the UK Government’s Open Address Register programme? (Owen Boswarva)… Free the PAF! Watch the video of my Postcode Address File talk last night (James O’Malley)…

…and while we’re on GDPR, Speech by the Master of the Rolls: AI and the GDPR (Courts and Tribunals Judiciary).

Speaking of things not in the new Bill… you may remember some of the controversy around the previous Data Protection and Digital Information Bill was around the late insertion of powers for DWP to access data on people’s bank accounts. Those won’t be in DUAB - but, following a trail at Labour Party conference, there will be a new Fraud, Error and Debt Bill.

Some initial details on and reaction to that… New laws to be introduced to crack down on fraud (DWP)… Labour adopts hated Tory bank surveillance and DWP search and seize powers (Benefits and Work)… Labour’s benefit fraud crackdown would allow officials to access bank accounts (The Guardian)… DWP’s crackdown on welfare fraud risks ‘criminalising’ innocent benefit claimants, Starmer warned (Big Issue)… Big Brother Watch Responds to Keir Starmer’s Bank Spying Plans (Big Brother Watch)… UK government’s bank data sharing plan slammed as ‘financial snoopers’ charter’ (The Register)… Labour’s DWP fraud bill ‘will be recipe for abuse and miscarriages of justice’ (Disability News Service)… Monitoring UK bank accounts for benefits fraud would be ‘huge blow to privacy’ (Guardian)… Liz Kendall: Labour has a plan to tackle the scourge of welfare fraud (Telegraph).

AI Bill: A narrow frontier-focused Bill, putting the AI Safety Institute on a statutory footing and making voluntary agreements between government and industry mandatory, is coming soon, accompanied by a consultation (which we understand may go wider).

Meanwhile… California’s failed AI safety bill is a warning to Britain (Politico). There’s more on that, in AI got ‘rithm, below.

Cybersecurity and Resilience Bill: We thought this might be the first of the DSIT Bills - instead, it’s coming in 2025, according to a new collection of relevant documents published by the department.

While we’re on cyber… “An utter shitshow”: Inside the Transport for London cyberattack (London Centric)… TfL cyber attack: What you need to know (BBC)… Admin account blamed for rail terror message hack (BBC)… ISP employee arrested after ‘cyber vandalism’ targeted at station WiFi (Public Technology)… All Dutch police officers’ contact details stolen in cyberattack (Politico)…

And from DSIT, Cyber Essentials 10 years on (speech by Feryal Clark MP)… DSIT cyber security newsletter… Search begins for next generation of cyber security talent… Cyber Security Breaches Survey: User-engagement exercise (closes 4 November).

Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill: Not to go all Brenda from Bristol on you, but… yes, another one, and one not mentioned in the King’s Speech: New bill introduced in Parliament to clarify crypto’s legal status (MoJ).

While we’re on crypto, Donald Trump has a new crypto venture. The industry is not impressed (FT) - I’ll leave the final word on that to Giles Wilkes.

Other King’s Speech Bills: The Product Safety and Metrology Bill has had its first and second readings in the Lords - committee stage (where peers will start scrutinising it line-by-line) starts on 4 November. The Lords Library and UK in a Changing Europe have briefings. The Lords Constitution Committee is concerned it’s a ‘skeleton bill’ with a lot of secondary powers for ministers.

The Employment Rights Bill has had its first and second readings in the Commons, committee stage dates to be confirmed. Here’s the government press release, while IFOW have a response, the TUC have a useful summary (including of what’s yet to come, including work on digital surveillance of workers and a right to switch off) and techUK look at what it means for the tech sector.

And worth noting the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill is at committee stage in the Commons. That would abolish hereditary peers, including some data-interested ones (like former ministers Viscount Camrose and Lord Bethell).

Online Safety Act: As ever, let the Online Safety Act Network newsletter be your comprehensive guide - they also have a summary of recent stories, Safety by design: has its time finally come?

It’s one year since the Act passed: Peter Kyle tweeted about the anniversary… the OSAN have a special newsletter… The Online Safety Act is one year old. Has it made children any safer? (BBC)… Online Safety Act one year on: Ofcom must fix holes in regulation (5Rights)… 1 year on from the Online Safety Act: Strengthen the Act to protect young lives (Molly Rose Foundation)… Revitalised Online Safety Act should help fact checkers turn the tide on misinformation (Full Fact)… One year on from the Online Safety Act - techUK members are introducing new features and product changes to create a safer internet (techUK).

Other things that came across my radar include… Peter Kyle talking about the OSA on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg… Technology Secretary says firms must ‘bake’ safety at centre of new products (The Independent)… Social media faces big changes under new Ofcom rules (BBC)… The new face of digital abuse: Children’s experiences of nude deepfakes (Internet Matters)… Our joint letter to Sir Keir Starmer about the Online Safety Act (Mental Health Foundation and others)… Potential impact of the Online Safety Bill (DSIT)… Online Safety Act: Enactment impact assessment (DSIT)… Tackling illegal content online and implementation of the Online Safety Act - letter from the Secretary of State to Ofcom (DSIT)… Ofcom’s approach to implementing the Online Safety Act (Ofcom)… Social media algorithms need overhaul in wake of Southport riots, Ofcom says (The Guardian)… First UK-US online safety agreement pledges closer co-operation to keep children safe online (DSIT)… UK-US statement on the protection of children online (DSIT)… research on the technology needs of Trust and Safety practitioners (DSIT)… Safety Tech Challenge Fund round 2 evaluation (DSIT)… Instagram is not doing enough to keep children safe (5Rights)…

Begun, the Phone Wars have… there’s a Private Members’ Bill, the Protection of Children (Digital Safety and Data Protection) from new Labour MP Josh MacAlister, ‘to make provision for the protection of children accessing digital services and content’ - it’s been introduced, with second reading in the Commons coming in March 2025… the smartphone ban bit has attracted most attention, Fight begins to make mobile-free schools law (BBC), but it will also apparently raise the age of internet adulthood, give Ofcom powers over addictive apps and commit government to reviewing legislation on mobile phones for under 16s… and The town pushing to delay smartphones for children (BBC)… It’s parents who are anxious about smartphones, not their children (New Scientist)… ‘Parents know they are not alone’: UK pact to withhold smartphones until 14 gathers pace (The Guardian)… Unhealthy influencers? Social media and youth mental health (The Lancet)… Girl without smartphone unable to join in lesson (BBC)…

And coming up.. on 28 October, Lords will consider the Online Safety Act 2023 (Priority Offences) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 in Grand Committee, and on 29 October, there’s a Westminster Hall debate on Online safety for children and young people brought by Lola McEvoy MP (Labour).

Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act: FCA chair says he will not quit over whistleblower mishandling (FT)

Private Member’s Bills: MPs present Private Members’ Bills to Parliament - the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has understandably attracted most of the headlines, but (as per the OSA section above) there’s at least one tech-relevant bill in the form of Josh McAllister’s Protection of Children (Digital Safety and Data Protection) Bill. (The Citizens’ Assembly bit in Clive Lewis’ Water Bill and monitoring eligibility in Peter Lamb’s Free School Meals Bill strike me as relevant.) PMBs often need government support to get through - if you want to know more about how many pass, and plenty else, the IfG has an explainer.

Other: Communications Act 2003: Twelfth report on the Secretary of State’s functions (DSIT)… New regulations set out circumstances in which the Secretary of State can intervene in the running of internet domain registries for UK-related domains (decoded.legal).

DSIT up and take notice

The centre: Starting with general government vibes, strategy, developments etc… As the government approached its first 100 days, chief of staff Sue Gray departed and the prime minister reset his No 10 operation. Politico (twice) and The Guardian are among the news outlets with big reads on the first 100 days.

One of the big initiatives that bookmarked the first 100 days was the UK Investment Summit on 14 October - ‘Record-breaking International Investment Summit secures £63 billion and nearly 38,000 jobs for the UK’ was the press release form the Department for Business and Trade. AI, data and tech got some mentions in the PM’s speech - he also sat down for an interview with former Google CEO Eric Schimdt (conducted by GSK’s CEO, Emma Walmsley), covered as UK’s Keir Starmer: Don’t be scared of AI by Politico and Starmer: ‘There’s always an inhibition in government when it comes to technology and change’ by Public Technology. Starmer had told the Standard We can make London the AI capital of the world. The opportunities to create wealth are endless a couple of weeks earlier. Schmidt’s appearance caused some controversy given recent comments on AI and climate change - Disconnect’s Silicon Valley is sacrificing the climate for AI gives you a favour.

The Summit coincided with the publication of the UK’s new industrial strategy, Invest 2035 (there’s a consultation open until 24 November, a statement to parliament, and a shorter version). ‘Digital and Technologies’ is one of the eight ‘growth-driving sectors’ being prioritised (page 24 has more on the sector), while page 33 gives you ‘data in the industrial strategy’.

And don’t forget: Wednesday (30 October) is Budget Day (plus spending review) - that should tell us what projects are about to get funded and what budgets departments (including DSIT) will have to play with. There are a couple of pieces doing the rounds on Labour’s political economy, highly relevant to different perspectives on tech’s role: Starmerism, what is it really? (William Cullerne Bown) and Bevin, Crosland or Blair? Labour’s rival political economies (Renewal). UKDayOne published AI Industrial Strategy: A Plan for “Intelligence Too Cheap to Meter”, while techUK and the CBI have got their asks in. Oh, and Faulty jobs data leaves UK hiring picture uncertain, economists say (FT).

People: New Cabinet Committees have been announced, with the Prime Minister chairing one on Science and Technology (the IfG explains what Cabinet Committees are, why they matter and how they’ve changed). A plea should anyone in Cabinet Office be reading this: GOV.UK allows you to keep historical versions listed on this page as well, or create a collection of previous announcements, rather than just overwriting what was there before with the latest list which is less than ideal.

You’ve missed the deadline if you wanted to apply for the most senior role in the civil service - Cabinet Secretary. The FT and Guardian look at the runners and riders, who include Ofcom chief Melanie Dawes (who was in the FT with UK regulator preparing for ‘strong action’ against tech giants).

Cabinet Office is also looking for some Non-Executive Board Members - deadline 14 November. ‘Promoting the release of government data, and making the way government works more transparent’ is still listed as one of their responsibilities, despite the move of GDS and CDDO to DSIT (h/t Owen Boswarva). Meanwhile, government chief digital officer Mike Potter has left - Government to share succession plans ‘in due course’ after chief digital officer departure, reports Public Technology. DfE also has a new Science Advisory Council, and the National Cyber Security Centre has a new CEO.

Controversy continues over some appointments - as well as some more stories (and freedom of information responses) about DG for the digital centre, Emily Middleton, GDS founder Mike Bracken joins HMRC boardroom set-up (Public Technology) - ‘Director of firm that donated £100k to Labour joins HMRC board’ is how the Times reports it, while Public Digital have blogged about it themselves, too. And… Revealed: No 10 adviser involved in AI policy has financial interests in AI (openDemocracy).

Ministers have been busy: Tech Secretary welcomes foreign investment in UK data centres which will spur economic growth and AI innovation in Britain (DSIT) - he’s also been out in the US speaking to tech firms - while Feryal Clark was in Italy for the G7 Ministerial Declaration (and here’s the G7 Toolkit for Artificial Intelligence in the Public Sector, courtesy of the OECD). CSW published Meet the ministers: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to coincide with Labour conference.

Though it’s not just in DSI: Data and AI are ‘greatest focus’, UK City minister [Tulip Siddiq] tells fintech conference (Global Government Forum)… UK’s City minister pushes for blockchain gilts despite concerns (FT).

Institutions: Game-changing tech to reach the public faster as dedicated new unit launched to curb red tape was how DSIT announced the new Regulatory Innovation Office, which readers may remember as a longstanding Labour promise. There was a written statement in parliament too. You have until 19 November if you’d like to apply to chair it. And as noted above, the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes has launched.

But here at Connected by Data towers (metaphorically - we don’t actually have a building, let alone towers), the big one was the new advisory panel to help DSIT shape the new digital centre: Tech experts to shape government digital vision to drive innovation and boost public services (DSIT), featuring our own executive director, Jeni Tennison. Baroness Martha Lane Fox is one of the co-chairs (with CDDO chair Paul Willmott), blogging about the first meeting (Working in the open – digital government in the U.K. in 2024), while other members include Poppy Gustafsson, former CEO of cybersecurity firm Darktrace, who was appointed as UK investment minister days later.

Jeni blogged about some of her initial reflections, having sparked a fantastic discussion on Bluesky (honestly people, come on in, the water’s lovely). Responses to that included… What does the internet want from a new Digital Centre for the UK Government? (Tim Paul)… A future vision for digital gov (Laura Yarrow)… A digital centre for the rest of us? (Neil Williams)… What should Digital* Government do next (Sharon Dale)… Ideas for the new ‘Digital Centre Design Panel’ (Matt Jukes)… Relational digital futures (Anna Dent)… a thread (Janet Hughes)… Five quick things for the digital future (Mark O’Neill)… Why the digital centre mustn’t forget about content (Anna Hepburn)… 4 ideas for the digital centre of government (dxw)… The Digital Centre of Government (medConfidential)… Jeni also spoke about it all at the first TransformGov Talks (video/audio to follow)…

People resurfaced some existing thoughts, including… Being Served (Mark O’Neill)… A local digital tripartite (Phil Rumens)… A UK Open-Source Fund to Support Software Innovation and Maintenance (UKDayOne)… Ideas for digital public works (Frankie Roberto)… Rebuilding Resilient Britain: Evidence Gaps and Knowledge Exchange opportunities (GO Science, especially pages 8 and 9)… Reuse by Design (Nikola Goger)… Better outcomes for everyone? The UK’s fragmented digital ecosystem of work and welfare (Digit)… The case for a Digital Design Council (Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino)…

And there were other relevant reckons and reflections on all things digital and data in government, including… Sketches of future digital services in government (Steve Messer)… “Forms? Where we’re going, we don’t need forms!” (Jerry Fishenden)… User-facing services vs enabling platforms (Kuba Bartwicki)… A vision for public digital work (James Plunkett)… Government is not an app (Richard Pope)… Tony Blair is wrong – AI will not magically solve our public services (Hetan Shah for the New Statesman)… How to build a National Data Library (ODI)… If government is serious about digital transformation and AI, it needs a fundamental shift in mindset (CSW)… The Service Gazette… and How government defines a service (CDDO).

Some chancer also thought it was a good moment to float the idea of a thinktank focused on data and digital government.

Health: Where to start?

In early October, health secretary Wes Streeting gave a speech, Our ambition to rebuild general practice (DHSC), which included NHS England taking responsibility for ensuring that (where consent had been given) patient data would be used for research… expert reaction to Secretary of State, Wes Streeting, announcing NHS England will be able to share GP data with consented cohorts for scientific research (Science Media Centre)… Response to government announcement paving way for access to GP data (UK Biobank)… A first look at Wes Streeting’s vision for the medical notes held by your GP (medConfidential)… and a few weeks later, NHS England warned about plans to extend Covid-era rules for patient data access (The Register)…

Then, later in the month, the government launched change.nhs.uk and a big consultation on the future of the NHS… Wes Streeting unveils plans for ‘patient passports’ to hold all medical records (The Guardian)… I love the NHS: it saved my life, but the operation to rescue it must be led by the people and its staff (Wes Streeting for The Guardian)… NHS delays mean ‘death sentence’ for some patients, says Wes Streeting (The Guardian)… Ministers pledge unified patient record in NHS App as part of 10-year journey from ‘analogue to digital’ (Public Technology)… Jokey reform ideas removed from NHS website (BBC)… there was reaction from former NHSX CTO, Hadley Beeman (and on ‘data sharing vs data access’), Pritesh Mistry of the King’s Fund, Understanding Patient Data, Public Digital, and Jeni… medConfidential have links to the various government initiatives… and NHS staff use WhatsApp ‘constantly’ to share private patient data (FT)…

On genomics data… ‘Race science’ group say they accessed sensitive UK health data (The Guardian)… A message to our participants: unfounded claims in The Guardian (UK Biobank)… Genomics data at risk, again (Sarah Gold)… Curb Chinese access to British genome data, ministers urged (Telegraph)… Remember That DNA You Gave 23andMe? (The Atlantic)… 23andMe is on the brink. What happens to all its DNA data? (NPR)…

And… Listless GP data (a letter to The Times)… TBI responds to some questions on its work around health data… Virtual reality and wearable technology pilot to cut drug deaths (DSIT and DHSC)… New government tech deals boost the business of cancer detection (DSIT and DHSC)… NHS streamlines £300m framework for patient-engagement tech (Public Technology)… AI to help doctors spot broken bones on X-rays (BBC)… Patient data in the NHS (Patients Association, commissioned by Palantir)… NHSE chief: Federated data platform will ‘not be spectacular’ (HSJ).

Copyright and wrong: Minister Feryal Clark caused some surprise at Labour Party conference by suggesting legislation was imminent on the thorny question of AI, copyright and the creative industries. While that has been walked back a bit, it seems proposals may soon be forthcoming: New law may be needed to end AI copyright disputes (The Times)… UK to consult on ‘opt-out’ model for AI content-scraping in blow to publishers (FT)… Why the UK government’s love-in with Taylor Swift is coming to an end (Politico)… ‘An existential threat’: anger over UK government plans to allow AI firms to scrape content (The Observer).

The chair of the Commons DCMS committee has expressed concern that the new government will ‘resurrect’ some ‘flawed’ notions from the previous government, ‘sleepwalking’ into a policy disaster and ignoring previous work by her committee.

Careful Industries and Responsible AI have a well-timed unconference on 19 November, Creating Policy Futures, sharing and shaping ideas for AI policy in the cultural and creative industries.

AI: ‘Crucial to attract talent’ – government digital jobs map adds first AI-focused role (Public Technology)… Minister pledges ‘bold’ civil service productivity plan with focus on digital (Public Technology)… Artificial intelligence may be used in courts to stop victims waiting years for justice (Mirror)… AI firms must address hallucinations before GOV.UK chatbot can roll out, digital chief claims (Public Technology)… Research programme to ensure UK economy uses AI to grow safely (DSIT)… Incubator for AI grows to 40-plus staff (Public Technology)… Artificial Intelligence sector study 2023 (DSIT)… Technology Working Group publishes report on artificial intelligence (Treasury)… The UK civil service isn’t ready for AI yet – but there are reasons for optimism (Global Government Forum)… Labour to announce £10bn AI project in Northumberland backed by pro-Trump billionaire (The Guardian)… and DSIT have also added a load of case studies to their collection of AI assurance techniques.

Stats: UK Statistics Assembly 2025 - consultation closes 3 November (UKSA)… Consultation on proposed changes to the Code of Practice for Statistics (Office for Statistics Regulation)… Annual review of casework 2023-24 (Office for Statistics Regulation)… Inspiring the Next Generation Through Playground Data (ONS)… Improving the visibility of older people in global statistics (ONS)… JOB: Deputy Director for the Data Science Campus (ONS).

Everything else: DCMS Secretary, Lisa Nandy, and the PM have promised a new ‘Civil Society Covenant’ (Lisa Nandy announces plan to restore charities to ‘centre of national life’ - The Guardian). NCVO and ACEVO are looking for feedback. Rachel Coldicutt remains worried about the ‘estrangement of digital civil society from government’…

On defence, The UK’s Defence Strategy Needs a Reboot in the Age of AI (TBI)… Global Strategic Trends: Out to 2055 (MoD)… Rise of the robots: AI to shape UK defense review (Politico)…

Some geospatial news… Geospatial Sector Market Report 2024 (DSIT)… Geospatial Commission: Board of Commissioners meeting, 30 April 2024 (DSIT)…

At the ICO… What price privacy? Poor PSNI procedures culminate in £750k fine (ICO)… ‘I don’t sleep at night’ – victims of PSNI breach reveal impact as ICO confirms £750k fine (Public Technology)…

Other DSIT announcements… Research programme to ensure UK economy uses AI to grow safely… New support for semiconductor firms to grow, powering growth in £10 billion UK industry… UK position on EU’s Research and Innovation Framework Programme… Defining and measuring the UK digital economy… UK innovation diffusion and adoption survey… UK Safety Tech Sector: 2024 analysis… Regulating quantum technology applications: government response to recommendations made by the Regulatory Horizons Council… Attitudes and awareness survey, 2024… and UK Science and Innovation Network summaries for Mexico… Ghana… Sweden… impact stories… while the consultation on Data protection fee regime: proposed changes has closed…

DSIT also seems to have taken to publishing some of their FOI responses (and non-responses), on… how much the public sector spends on procurement of digital tools… the forthcoming Frontier AI Safety Framework conference (and again)… the cost of the AI Safety Summit… GOV.UK pages on managing benefits and data protection… police and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard… travel expenses for the head of Office for Life Sciences… use of a Crown Commercial Service framework for hiring… the number of personal/executive assistants… Sarah Munby’s attendance at the Franco-British Colloque (a government minister relinquished part of their brief because of their attendance)… contact with particular companies - DXC Technology, Hakluyt, Arden Strategies… and, well.

DSIT have also published various Registers of interest. An FOI request for a declaration of interest by Matt Clifford prompted that one to be published (#impact whoever put that one in).

GDS are publishing videos from Design System Day (h/t Dave)… One Login adoption passes 40 services with Companies House deployment (Public Technology)… GDS identifies ‘small but significant margin’ of One Login users that lack evidence for verification (Public Technology)… Duo of departments deploy chatbot to support HR queries (Public Technology)… How we are leading a bold and innovative approach to online forms (Defra)… DWP to spend up to £7m on ‘modernisation’ of anti-fraud big data platform (Public Technology)… DVLA chief Lennard to oversee transformation of Crown Prosecution Service (Public Technology)…

Labour strikes deal to use AI for lesson plans and marking homework (Telegraph)… Anti-disinformation unit studies civil unrest and foreign interference – but still no word on staff numbers (Public Technology)… Three in four civil servants now share data with other departments, poll finds (CSW)…

Setting the foundations for effective data use in local government (MHCLG Digital)… LocalGovCamp 2024 Notes (Phil Rumens)… Social workers in England begin using AI system to assist their work (The Guardian, some discussion here)… Chinese surveillance equipment in local government (Verdict)… A Vision For Public Sector Data in Scotland (Scottish Government, NHS National Services Scotland and The Data Lab - feedback open until 30 November)…

Civil Service World interviewed former DCMS perm sec, Sue Owen… ‘Regulators need to be thick-skinned’: Former senior civil servant Marcial Boo is on a mission to professionalise the regulatory sector (CSW)…

And you have until 4 November to have your say on the National Procurement Policy Statement Survey (Government Commercial Function).

Party people

Hard Labour: Labour whips warn party’s MPs not to try to amend bills or disagree in public (The Guardian)…

Tory story: As the Tory leadership contest enters its final stages - we’ll find out the new leader on 2 November… Why the Tories lost – by the Tory leadership candidates (The Spectator), includes the question, ‘Has Elon Musk been a good thing for freedom of speech?’…

Elsewhere… ‘The new wave of technology, including AI, will reshape the nature of campaigns. We must seize this potential’ (Conservatives Together)… shadow DSIT minister wrote to the government about digital inclusion… Igniting Innovation: How the UK can lead in emerging tech regulation (Onward)… congratulations to ODI’s Resham Kotecha on making Politico’s list of the top 20 tech policy people for Tory conference… and shadow tech sec Andrew Griffith may be throwing stones at glass townhouses (as it were) about recent stories on declaring gifts and donations…

And: Reform used AI to make a party political broadcast (just like they did with their candidates, eh readers?)… Why Britain’s ‘deepfake election’ never happened (Politico).

Conference calls

Conference season is now over for another year (though some parties, including the Lib Dems and Greens, often have big spring conferences as well). As of the previous edition of the Digest, we’d had SNP conference in Edinburgh, Green conference in Manchester (where a motion on ‘Addressing the Dire Need for AI Regulation’ was passed), and Lib Dem conference in Brighton. There was also TUC Congress in Brighton, where successful motions included 76, on Young workers, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, and a composite motion (C16) bundling together several others relating to AI regulation, equality, skills, training, and the arts.

We’ve now had Reform (the party, not the thinktank) in Birmingham, then Labour in Liverpool, the Conservatives in Birmingham and Plaid Cymru in Cardiff.

Our spreadsheet hopefully caught all the data, AI and tech-related events at conferences - there’s now an extra column for any video, audio or write ups of the events. Please do add any you’ve seen.

At Labour conference (which is somehow more than a month ago)… Peter Kyle did a short speech on the main conference floor. I tried to keep track of the events I went along to. I thought that (while not a jubilant victory lap) the general mood was not quite as downbeat as reported, the data/AI conversations were more practical and grounded than they might have been, the new intake includes some MPs with a real interest and expertise in data and tech, and there was some consensus emerging between different sectors even while some ministers are still paying more attention to big tech talking points.

That said… Did you drink the AI Kool-Aid? asked Jonathan Tanner, while other reflections, stories and spin-offs included Science minister hints at new ‘mission-led’ R&D fund (Research Professional News)… AI in public services – a political panacea? (Imogen Parker for Global Government Forum)… How data literacy for all can accelerate the UK’s tech revolution (Emma Thwaites for Computer Weekly)… OpenUK had a summary of their events and reflections… Politico looked back at Labour and Conservative conferences, and the Office for Statistics Regulation published a post on Commenting on conference speeches.

Parly-vous data?

The biggest news is of course the introduction of the Data (Use and Access) Bill - see Bills, bills, bills for more on that, and (while we’re feeling legislative) the Private Members’ Bills ballot.

So let’s kick off with select committees, which scrutinise the work of the government. Last time out, select committee chairs had just been elected with former shadow minister, Chi Onwurah MP (Labour), leading the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee. Labour and Conservative members have now been elected by their respective parliamentary parties and appointed - they’re Emily Darlington, Allison Gardner, Steve Race, Josh SImons, Lauren Sullivan and Adam Thompson for Labour, and former ministers George Freeman and Kit Malthouse for the Conservatives (that came earlier than expected, with rumours that the Tories would wait until after their leadership contest). Lib Dems Tom Gordon and Martin Wrigley will complete the committee on Monday. Other committees are in a similar position.

As for everything else that’s happened… in the Commons, on 7 October there were only a few mentions of data and AI in the debate on the Darzi Review of the NHS… on 16 October, it was Science, Innovation and Technology question time… on 17 October it was Culture, Media and Sport questions, featuring some on AI… there was also a written question on digital inclusion which Public Technology wrote up as: Minister slams ‘scandal’ of failure to update digital inclusion strategy since 2014, and the good folk of the Commons Library have set up a Bluesky account to help track written answers to DSIT questions…

While in the Lords… on 9 October, Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (non-affiliated) had a question on computer science applications to English universities and a debate brought by Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative) on public sector productivity touched on digital transformation… on 14 October, Baroness Benjamin (Lib Dem) asked about the independent pornography review commissioned by the previous government… on 15 October, Baroness Chakrabarti (Labour) asked about the Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, and the Lords Communications and Digital Committee heard from ministers in the final evidence session for their future of news inquiry… on 16 October, the International Agreements Committee took evidence on data and digital trade from ministers and civil servants… on 18 October, Lord Holmes (Conservative) asked ‘whether [the government] plan to regulate artificial intelligence and, if so, which uses they intend to regulate’… on 22 October, the (Lords) Science and Technology committee quizzed the Government Chief Scientific Adviser… and the European Affairs Committee wrote to the DSIT Secretary as part of their inquiry on UK-EU data adequacy (Computer Weekly have a summary)…

Coming up in the Commons… 29 October, Westminster Hall debate on Online safety for children and young people brought by Lola McEvoy (Labour)… 20 November: DSIT questions… 28 November: DCMS questions… 5 December: Cabinet Office questions…

Coming up in the Lords… 29 October, first oral evidence session for the Communications and Digital Committee’s inquiry into Scaling up - AI and creative tech… 31 October, debate brought by Viscount Stansgate (Labour) on The contribution of science and technology to the UK economy… 5 November, question from Baroness Fox (non-affiliated) on ‘Ensuring accurate and consistent data on sex and gender are collected from future Census questions to ensure robust official data’… 11 November, a question from Lord Clement-Jones (Lib Dem) on ‘The Vallance review into the regulation of emerging digital technologies, and the relationship between intellectual property rights and the training of generative AI models’… 18 November, a question from Lord Kempsell (Conservative) on ‘Improving the use of evaluation in government policy-making’…

Don’t forget: the Budget (and first part of the Spending Review) takes place on Wednesday 30 October, with a few days of debate to follow. And there’s a short recess in early November, as the Houses rise on Wednesday 6 and return Monday 11.

Remember to keep an eye on the all-party parliamentary groups being set up. APPGs are informal cross-party groups of parliamentarians interested in particular topics - some of them can be quite active, with events and even reports (and if nothing else may be useful for seeing which MPs and peers are interested in certain issues).

And finally… Parliament offers £633 a day for non-exec to join Digital Board (Public Technology)… ‘A Labour member who was arrested in connection with the Westminster honeytrap scandal has had his police bail extended to late November’ (Politico)… Harnessing scientific and technological innovation in the UK (POST)… From programme to directorate: sustaining digital and data transformation in Parliament (Parliamentary Digital Service)… Parliament explores how generative AI could support MPs and peers (Public Technology)… and Britain’s new MPs rage at parliament’s old traditions (Politico).

AI got ‘rithm

For whom Nobel tolls: An interestingly AI-dominated set of Nobel Prizes have been announced in the last few weeks. The prize for Physics was won by John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton ‘for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks’, while the prize for Chemistry was divided, with one half awarded to David Baker ‘for computational protein design’, and the other half to Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper ‘for protein structure prediction’.

Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson won the Economics prize ‘for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity’. You may have encountered some of their ideas including the ‘narrow corridor’ which UCL’s David Eaves has applied specifically to digital government. A critique of the laureates’ work has also been doing the rounds: The Nobel for Econsplaining (FT).

International: Gavin Newsom vetoes sweeping AI safety bill, siding with Silicon Valley (Politico)… AB 2013: Generative artificial intelligence: training data transparency (CalMatters)… In California, no AI bill is safe (Blood in the Machine)… AI firms and civil society groups plead for passage of federal AI law ASAP (The Register - more from Americans for Responsible Innovation)… White House issues guidance for agencies on AI procurement (Global Government Forum)… Memorandum on Advancing the United States’ Leadership in Artificial Intelligence; Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Fulfill National Security Objectives; and Fostering the Safety, Security, and Trustworthiness of Artificial Intelligence (The White House)… FTC sues five AI outfits – and one case in particular raises questions (The Register)…

Over a hundred companies sign EU AI Pact pledges to drive trustworthy and safe AI development (European Commission)… Redirecting Europe’s AI Industrial Policy (AI Now)… France appoints first AI minister (Global Government Forum)… Algorithms Policed Welfare Systems For Years. Now They’re Under Fire for Bias (Wired, on France)…

And… State of AI Report 2024…

Big AI: Machines of Loving Grace: How AI Could Transform the World for the Better (Dario Amodei, Anthropic)… The Intelligence Age (Sam Altman - responses from Wired, MIT Technology Review)…

Exclusive: OpenAI to remove non-profit control and give Sam Altman equity (Reuters)… As OpenAI CTO and two others depart, Altman denies link to restructuring plans (Ars Technica)… one of OpenAI’s co-founders on recent changes (indeed)… OpenAI asks investors not to back rival start-ups such as Elon Musk’s xAI (FT)… Justine Roberts of Mumsnet talks to Prospect about their legal action against OpenAI… Silicon Valley and investors are betting that OpenAI’s project is too big to fail (Blood in the Machine)… Former OpenAI Researcher Says the Company Broke Copyright Law (New York Times)…

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announces $120M fund for global AI education (TechCrunch)… Google introduces new way to search by filming video (BBC)… CMA begins formal investigation into Alphabet-Anthropic deal over competition concerns (Tech Monitor)… Nvidia just dropped a bombshell: Its new AI model is open, massive, and ready to rival GPT-4 (VentureBeat)… Microsoft re-launches ‘privacy nightmare’ AI screenshot tool (BBC)… Microsoft: ‘ever present’ AI assistants are coming (BBC)… Why Microsoft’s Copilot AI falsely accused court reporter of crimes he covered (The Conversation)…

Centre forward: Google says UK risks being ‘left behind’ in AI race without more data centres (The Guardian)… Worker shortage hampers datacentre boom (BBC)… Blackstone invests £10B to build Europe’s ‘biggest AI datacenter’ in UK (The Register)…

Energy: Three Mile Island is reopening and selling its power to Microsoft (CNN)… Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund backs nuclear fuel start-up (FT)… Nuclear energy stocks hit record highs on surging demand from AI (FT)…

Creative industries, copyright: Terminator creator James Cameron joins board of AI company (BBC)… The world’s first AI art museum is designed to challenge our brains (Fast Company)… James McAvoy and Tom Brady fall for ‘Goodbye Meta AI’ hoax (BBC)… Dame Judi Dench and John Cena to voice Meta AI chatbot (BBC)… Lionsgate Signs Deal With AI Company Runway, Hopes That AI Can Eliminate Storyboard Artists and VFX Crews (Cartoon Brew)… Thom Yorke and Julianne Moore join thousands of creatives in AI warning (The Guardian)… Statement on AI training… From Rupert Murdoch to Thom Yorke: the growing backlash to AI (The Guardian)… Times are changing and my new novel published next month will be the first of my books to contain this text on the copyright page (Jonathan Coe)… Tracking the Licensing of Scholarly Content to LLMs (The Scholarly Kitchen)… We need clarity about the deals between AI companies and news publishers. Here’s why (Reuters Institute)… Michael Parkinson is back, with an AI voice that can fool even his own family (The Observer)…

Opportunities: The difficult work conversation AI helped me with (FT)… A lonely and ancient plant needs a female partner and researchers are using drones and AI to find it – podcast (The Conversation)… ‘Evidence banks’ can drive better decisions in public life (FT)… Transforming global evidence: AI-driven evidence synthesis for policymaking (ESRC)… Can AI drive innovation in qualitative research? Here’s what we’ve learnt. (Nesta)… AI and automation can open the way for workplace inclusion (LSE)… Want to win an argument? Use a chatbot (The Economist)… NotebookLM now lets you listen to a conversation about your sources (Google)… How to Generate an AI Podcast Using Google’s NotebookLM (Wired)… I tried Google’s new one-click AI podcast creator, and now I don’t know what’s real anymore (TechRadar)…

Harms: The Invisible Hand of Artificial Intelligence in Transnational Repression (Tech Policy Press)… Devs gaining little (if anything) from AI coding assistants (CIO)… AI-Enabled Influence Operations: The Threat to the UK General Election (Cetas, Alan Turing Institute)… The racist AI deepfake that fooled and divided a community (BBC)… Invisible text that AI chatbots understand and humans can’t? Yep, it’s a thing. (Ars Technica)… AI assistants are blabbing our embarrassing work secrets (Washington Post)… High School Is Becoming a Cesspool of Sexually Explicit Deepfakes: AI-generated child-sexual-abuse images are flooding the web (The Atlantic)… Hacked ‘AI Girlfriend’ Data Shows Prompts Describing Child Sexual Abuse (404 Media)… Millions of People Are Using Abusive AI ‘Nudify’ Bots on Telegram (Wired)… Sex machina: in the wild west world of human-AI relationships, the lonely and vulnerable are most at risk (The Conversation)… Project Analyzing Human Language Usage Shuts Down Because ‘Generative AI Has Polluted the Data’ (404 Media)… Google’s AI Mushrooms Could Have ‘Devastating Consequences’ (404 Media)… AIs get worse at answering simple questions as they get bigger (New Scientist)… ‘I massively regret using AI to cheat at uni’ (BBC)… Researchers say an AI-powered transcription tool used in hospitals invents things no one ever said (Associated Press)… Google, Microsoft, and Perplexity Are Promoting Scientific Racism in Search Results (Wired)…

Economics: AI start-ups generate money faster than past hyped tech companies (FT)… As the AI Bubble Deflates, the Ethics of Hype Are in the Spotlight (Tania Duarte for Tech Policy Press)… Will AI solve the UK’s growth problem? Don’t be so sure (Diane Coyle, Sunday Times - see also Why technology alone won’t solve the UK’s productivity puzzle, Bennett Institute)… Drowning in Slop: A thriving underground economy is clogging the internet with AI garbage — and it’s only going to get worse. (New York Magazine)…

Standard: Weekly London Standard launches with AI Keir Starmer front page (Press Gazette)… Keir Starmer: We can make London the AI capital of the world. The opportunities to create wealth are endless (Standard) … spotted by Politico, it was supposed to be someone else (Popbitch - scroll down for some football data action too)… London Standard’s AI imitation of Brian Sewell proves art critics cannot be easily replaced (The Guardian)… AI cannot bring Brian Sewell back to life (New Statesman)…

Everything else: Duolingo’s Billionaire Founder Is All In On AI (Forbes)… The future of AI might look a lot like Twitter (The Verge, includes SocialAI)… The New Artificial Intelligentsia (Los Angeles Review of Books)… Creating a public counterpoint for AI (Mozilla)… Open Horizons: Exploring nuanced technical and policy approaches to openness in AI (Demos, Mozilla)… Democratizing AI: Principles for Meaningful Public Participation (Data & Society)… The Algorithmic Impact Methods Lab: Methods from the Field (Data & Society)… The Role of Governments in Increasing Interconnected Post-Deployment Monitoring of AI (Merlin Stein, Jamie Bernardi, Connor Dunlop)… The Editors Protecting Wikipedia from AI Hoaxes (404 Media)… AI: Power & Potential (Savanta and House 337)…

And… Watch: Can BBC reporter’s AI clone fool his colleagues? (BBC)… This one got people going on social media… Sam Altman on the best way to take notes (Quartz)… An unscripted conversation with my AI avatar (Dan’s Media & AI Sandwich)… AI needs to be injected into police force ‘like heroin into bloodstream’, says leading officer (The Independent)… And looks to camera People are “blatantly stealing my work,” AI artist complains (Creative Bloq)… Famous AI Artist Says He’s Losing Millions of Dollars From People Stealing His Work (Gizmodo)

In brief

Here’s looking at EU:Thierry Breton Resigns- What Does it Mean for European Tech Regulation? (Tech Policy Press)… Europe’s tech security czar-to-be faces China fight at home (Politico)… Lobbying for unfettered innovation is bad for democracy (former MEP, Marietje Schaake, in the FT)… Here’s the final schedule for commissioner hearings in November (Politico) - it’s 12 November for Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy (we looked at the relevant commissioners last time out)… Meta must limit data for personalised ads - EU court (BBC)… Commission sends requests for information to YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok on recommender systems under the Digital Services Act (European Commission)… Commission concludes that online social networking service of X should not be designated under the Digital Markets Act (European Commission - key quote)…

States of play: Perspectives on US Tech Policy After November (Tech Policy Press)… For years, Harris fought online abuse against women. Now she is a target. (Washington Post)… I’m Running Out of Ways to Explain How Bad This Is: What’s happening in America today is something darker than a misinformation crisis (The Atlantic)… Donald Trump meets with Blue Origin execs the same day WaPo declines to endorse a presidential candidate. (The Verge)… Cards Against Humanity offers to pay nonvoters to go to the polls (CBS)…

The Evolution of Online Political Advertising: A Conversation with Who Targets Me’s Sam Jeffers (Tech Policy Press)… California’s new law forces digital stores to admit you’re just licensing content, not buying it (The Verge)… As FTC Chair Lina Khan’s Term Expires, Democrats Are Torn Between Donors and Their Base (Wired)… Inside the U.S. Government-Bought Tool That Can Track Phones at Abortion Clinics (404 Media)…

Musk odour: Westminster’s reliance on Elon Musk’s X is ‘totally wrong’, says Labour MP (The Guardian)… Elon Musk’s X Backs Down in Brazil (New York Times)… Brazil lifts ban on Musk’s X after it pays $5m fine (BBC)… The EU far right wants to give Elon Musk a free speech award (Politico)… Elon Musk denies ‘romantic relationship’ with Giorgia Meloni after New York lovefest (Politico)… Musk hits back after being shunned from UK summit (BBC)… Elon Musk Spoke at a Trump Rally, Referenced ‘Dark MAGA,’ and Urged Supporters to Vote (Wired)… Elon Musk announces $1M giveaway for voters who sign petition in battleground states (NBC)… British police reduce X presence amid extremist content worries (Reuters)… Elon Musk’s Secret Conversations With Vladimir Putin (Wall Street Journal)…

Antisocial media: How a deleted LinkedIn post was weaponised and seen by millions before the Southport riot (BBC)… With Bluesky, the social media echo chamber is back in vogue (FT)… Independent Researchers and Journalists Mourn the Loss of CrowdTangle (Tech Policy Press)… Yes, CEOs are moving left, but ‘woke capitalism’ is not the whole story (FT - thread)… Did Apple Just Kill Social Apps? (New York Times)… TikTok plans mass job cuts on UK moderation and safety teams (TBIJ)… The ICO is leaving an AI enforcement gap in the UK (ORG)… Is Accountability Finally Coming for Online Platforms? (Martha Dark for Tech Policy Press)… How have social media algorithms changed the way we interact? (BBC)…

Inside the bro-ification of Mark Zuckerberg (Washington Post)… Mark Zuckerberg’s rebrand is a master class in distraction (Disconnect)…

Everything else: Is the UK press really anti-regulation? (Unchecked UK)… ‘I can’t run a business like this’: Why the WordPress row matters (BBC)… Employees Describe an Environment of Paranoia and Fear Inside Automattic Over WordPress Chaos (404 Media)… Someone Put Facial Recognition Tech onto Meta’s Smart Glasses to Instantly Dox Strangers (404 Media)… Google threatened with being broken up by US (BBC)… A tiny town just got slammed by Helene. It could massively disrupt the tech industry (NPR)… The couple who took on Google and cost the tech giant £2bn (BBC)…

UK’s Alan Turing Institute launches redundancy consultation process (The Guardian)… Post Office minister ‘horrified’ at more IT faults (BBC)… Subpostmasters living years with disputed but unresolved debts to the Post Office, inquiry told (Computer Weekly)… ‘Not functioning effectively’ – government to intervene in social care IT market (Public Technology)… AI Facial Recognition Surveillance in the UK (Tech Policy Press)… Why is the government betting big on a technology that promises much, but has so far delivered little? (Sky News)…

There’s a new Social Web Foundation… while The Web Foundation is no more (our Tim Davies has a thread)…

A new way of delaying transparency (George Greenwood, Relight my FOIA)… Suella Braverman sent government documents to her private email 127 times (The Times)…

And Happy Ada Lovelace Day… This Ada Lovelace day, let’s call time on ‘tech bro’ culture (City AM)… Celebrating Ada Lovelace Day: what Ada means to us (Ada Lovelace Institute)… Vote: Who should be the 2024 Most Influential Woman in UK Tech? (Computer Weekly).

What we’ve been up to

What everyone else has been up to

Events

First, some that have happened since the last Digest that you might want to catch up on include… Leeds Digital Festival… DataConnect… LocalGovCamp… Data & Society at 10: Foreseeable Futures… OggCamp 2024… Oxford Generative AI Summit… The Tech We Want Online Summit (Open Knowledge)… Data, AI and statistics for the public good (RSS Data Ethics & Governance Section)… Platformland: Richard Pope & Emer Coleman in conversation (ODI - former deputy head of GDS, Tom Loosemore, has reviewed the book)… DigiShift 85: Social Warming with Charles Arthur (SCVO) and State of the Sector 2024 - Data Maturity in the Nonprofit Sector (Data Orchard).

Second, some series: the ONS have one on Bringing data to life (there was one on 22 October, Create your own butterfly effect: citizens and environmental statistics); I’m one of the organisers of a new meetup, TransformGov Talks (Jeni and Andreas form i.AI spoke at the first one on 24 October - date tbc for November, you can sign up for the mailing list); and…

…the Data Bites event series that I’ve run at the Institute for Government since April 2019 is moving to a new home with Public Digital from the 50th event! Speakers on 6 November include government chief data officer, Craig Suckling, and Nicola Fulton from the ONS on the forthcoming Statistics Assembly.

And…

Good reads

And finally:

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