Welcome to the twenty-first edition of the LGA’s Cyber, Digital and Technology Bulletin.
Our programme of work for 24/25 is now in full swing. We have an exciting set of activities planned to support the secure and inclusive use of technology by councils and communities.
With thanks to our networks and the wider LG community for helping shape our programme, here is just a flavour of what we plan to deliver:
-
We are excited to announce a series of collaborative projects with colleagues at LocalGovDigital. Our first project is an important one and will involve a review and refresh of the Local Government Digital Service Standard to support councils in creating and running great services.
-
Our training offer will continue for councillors through our Digitalisation Leadership Essentials course at Warwick Conferences on 22 to 23 June – delivered through our partners at Public. Please encourage your elected members to join us for this free weekend session. We will be announcing further training for officers later this year.
-
Later this year, we will be inviting expressions of interest from councils to work alongside us and the LGA’s inhouse team of workforce specialists who will offer free advice and support on cyber and DDAT workforce planning and, in the process, test out and help further refine our skills framework for the profession.
-
We will also be running a set of projects on the benefits of digital change following demand voiced through our officer training and through our in-house research for guidance on developing and implementing digital business cases particularly quantifying the cross-cutting and measurable impacts of digitalisation.
-
We are working closely with a group of councils, our legal team and a specialist Barrister on draft contract clauses and procurement guidance for councils to enable them to be more resilient to a supplier cyber incident.
-
Look out also for our new Cyber Unpacked and AI Unpacked videos which will we be launching, our blueprint for cyber security incident communications and new research aiming to measure the digital landscape of local areas using the LGA’s LG Inform tool.
Please reach out if you have any further guidance or questions, and a reminder of our year-round on-call function, supporting councils with non-technical advice in response and recovery of cyber incidents, available 365 days a year.
I would also like to take the opportunity to remind you of our LinkedIn page, which we will be updating regularly with news, opportunities, and support around our programme of work. Please join us here to keep up to date.
|
Owen Pritchard
Head of Cyber, Digital and Technology
Local Government Association
|
|
 |
Sector-Led Consultancy Service
If you’re looking for free or low-cost support in cyber, digitalisation or technology, the CDT Team’s sector-led consultancy service might be able to help. The service offers a unique "by the sector, for the sector" approach, leveraging the expertise of experienced council professionals and external experts to support and advise your authority. Our team is seeking opportunities for September, so please get in touch to start planning your support.
Please visit our website for more information or to book a short introductory meeting with the team, please email CyberandDigital@local.gov.uk.
Digital and Cyber 360 Reviews: An opportunity to explore your digitalisation strategy or security culture – hearing fresh perspectives in a safe, friendly and constructive environment. A council who goes through a 360 can expect to gain advice, support, and a fresh perspective, from experts and fellow council officers over a period of two or three days.
Tailored Coaching or Improvement Support: An opportunity to work with an experienced IDeA officer or volunteer council officer, with the purpose of mentoring, coaching or other advice or guidance. This might cover identifying strengths and weaknesses, identifying goals, developing strategies, or providing ongoing guidance.
Cyber Reaction Exercises: An opportunity to co-develop a facilitated exercise to help establish how well you might react to a cyber incident, and to practice your response in a safe, constructive environment. Incident response exercises and business continuity exercises can both prove critical to reducing the impact of an attack through good decision-making, clear trustworthy communications and learning from incidents.
-
benchmark and baseline
- understand achievements and gaps for focus
-
develop a vision.
This session is designed for council digital leads, commissioners and senior leaders to set out the context of the framework and provide a walk-through of the tool. There will also be plenty of time for questions and answers about any specifics you may have in completing the tool.
The session will focus on key experiences and lessons learned from the sector on delivering transformation programmes so delegates from others to inform the creation and implementation of their transformation strategies. It will feature a presentation followed by a roundtable with delegates.
This roundtable is for officers working on transformation, change, and innovation.
The Local Government Association and LocalGovDigital are working together to launch a new group for technical experts working in local government who are already using, or planning to use artificial intelligence (AI).
Intended to complement the LGA’s existing AI Network, the group will share knowledge and skills around the practical application of AI in local government through regular show and tells and discussions online, and the first is on Thursday 27 June at 10am when we’ll be exploring how to build services with ChatGPT.
Alongside this, there’ll be in-person maker days and members of the group will be invited to work on common products for the benefit of both their organisation and wider local government.
The first maker day on Wednesday 25 September is part of this year’s LocalGovCamp, and will bring together content creators and technical experts to explore the use of Generative AI in local government comms.
AI Network
If you’re not yet a member and would like to attend, please sign up on the AI network page.
The ICO has published a report into “Learning from the mistakes of others”, containing practical advice to help organisations to understand common security failures and take simple steps to improve their own security, preventing future data breaches before they can happen.
This report focuses on main causes of security breaches: phishing, brute force attacks, denial of service, errors, supply chain attacks. The report outlines:
- what each of these attack types are
- how they take place
- some key principles to consider when trying to mitigate or reduce the level of harm from a security breach, based on our review
-
possible developments that might impact these categories in the future.
The policy brief highlights some of the findings from the three research projects and builds on their recommendations, and the British Academy’s existing evidence base, to offer a number of lessons for policymakers to inform local, regional, and national approaches to promoting digital inclusion.
The three research projects are:
-
‘Co-producing a Theory of Change and Evaluation Framework for Local Authority-led, City-wide Digital Inclusion Programmes’ - Led by Dr Kris Southby and Dr Joanne Trigwell, Leeds Beckett University
-
‘Digital Inclusion Network Development: A Case Study in Derbyshire’ - Led by Dr Sharon Wagg, University of Sheffield
-
‘Exploring Challenges and Best Practice in Addressing Digital Inequalities: A UK Regional Case Study Approach’ - Led by Professor Simeon Yates, University of Liverpool.
Following last week’s news of a July general election, Parliament has published an updated briefing discussing cyber security risks to elections. It explores the potential impacts on election outcomes and how these risks can be tackled. The briefing includes information on the recent incident at the Electoral Commission, risks of mis- and disinformation, and the impacts of AI generated content.
Following the written briefings shared with the sector to date regarding ongoing CCS negotiations with Microsoft on the new MOU, we would like to invite colleagues to a briefing meeting to discuss progress and for colleagues to input sector views. In light of the significant financial burden of Microsoft licenses faced by councils with, this will be an opportunity to hear directly from CCS, and take part in a Q&A.
You can rregister for this briefing using the link above or email cyberanddigital@local.gov.uk for more information.
Prepare for the Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) with DLUHC support
Through workshops, guidance and one-to-one support, the Local Digital team will help councils identify their critical systems and map their network architecture so they’re well-equipped for when the assessment is officially launched. Additionally, each council that completes the required work to Get CAF Ready will receive a £15,000 grant.
Update on the PSTN Digital Switchover
BT Group have announced a revision to the PSTN switchover timeline. The revised approach will result in a single switch for the majority of customers (businesses and consumers) – from copper to fibre - with all customers now expected to have moved off the old analogue PSTN by the end of January 2027. BT Consumer (EE) have also announced they are re-starting non-voluntary migrations of customers in summer 2024.
We continue to advise councils to prepare for the migration, conduct audits of telephone line usage and encourage the identification of telecare users with communications providers. The identification of a telecare user allows a communication provider to protect a person including if they wish to self-migrate to digital voice.
Keep updated via the LGA’s Digital Switchover Hub.
How can we best harness the right technology and data in a secure way to improve the lives of citizens whilst making sure no one is left behind?
Join UKAuthority live over three 90-minute sessions on Wednesday 19th, Thursday 20th and Friday 21st June (11:00-12:30) as public sector leaders and industry experts showcase what can be achieved and take part in lively discussions and Q&A sessions with delegate participation.
The fourth tri-WARP Conference is a collaboration between North West WARP, Yorkshire & Humber WARP & ISNorthEast (North East Government WARP). The Northern WARP Conference is a space to hear expert speakers from Government, industry and peers speak about a range of topics related to cyber/information security, information governance and information management.
This year, the Northern WARP conference is completely free for all organisations that are current members of any WARP in the UK.
The Socitm President's Conference is happening on June 12th and 13th at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole. This year's theme, "People Make Places," promises a transformative experience focused on re-imagining public services.
-
Hear from local authority chief executives about the challenges and aspirations shaping the future of public services.
-
Explore innovative initiatives that are making a difference in communities.
-
Network with colleagues from across the public sector.
Join the ESRC Digital Good Network for the launch event of Public Voices in AI, a new project which aims to ensure that public voices are front and centre in artificial intelligence research, development, use and policy.
At this online launch event, you’ll get a first look at how Public Voices in AI will bring public perspectives to the forefront of AI research, development, use and policy in the UK. You’ll also learn more about the Public Voices in AI Fund, including how to apply.
The LGA are represented on the steering committee feeding in the views of the Local Government AI network.
Cyber, Digital and Technology Team: cyberanddigital@local.gov.uk
For more information visit our Cyber and Digital hub
|
