At yesterday’s announcement of parliamentary business, there was again no mention of the Postal Services Bill, which means it is very doubtful that the Bill will receive its second reading next week (or the week after).

Alan Duncan, Shadow Leader of the House, asked if the Bill had been lost in the post (I wonder how many post-related puns we can collectively come up with). Harriet Harman, responding, said that space in the parliamentary timetable had to be made to fit in three days of debate on the Parliamentary Standards Bill. It was interesting to note that Ms Harman failed to take the opportunity to reaffirm the Government’s commitment to the Bill (something which they have been quick to do until recently).
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As all working within the arena will have noticed, the Cabinet Office yesterday released its cyber security strategy.

Whilst we of course welcome the Government’s move to implement the strategy, I am still concerned about whether the move will be robust enough to shift thinking and bring cyber security from the periphery to the core of national security considerations.

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Nobody wants to look back; everyone wants to look forward and present their take on solving the state of the UK Public Sector. There are a myriad of amiable solutions, all underpinned by technology, available in the UK Plc. But the problem is that the public sector and the market place do not always conjoin in the what, how, and who of solutions, nor the wider social responsibility aspects of a public sector solution.
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I’ve always wondered why we’ve not been back to the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. A mixture of astronomical costs – in every sense of the word - and ebbing of the Cold War no doubt played a large part in dulling this ambition. The result today is a generation of people for whom space means little more than a decaying space station, a powerful telescope and Battlestar Galactica (if their inner geek will admit it). But the reality is that there’s a lot more going on high above our heads than just floating unshaved cosmonauts and buzz-cutted yanks, and today’s launch of the new Space Innovation and Growth Team (IGT) aims to get the UK excited about space again. (more…)

Anthony Giddens and Tony Blair are often credited with introducing Britain to their so-called Third Way model, a renewal of social democracy in the postindustrial society. What this Third Way actually did in reality is hard to define. It has been described as the “Loch Ness Monster of British politics - everyone’s heard of it, there are occasional sightings but no-one is sure the beast really exists.” Nonetheless, Britain is at a crossroad and must determine whether to stay the course or take a turn (not meaning a political left or right, but looking backwards or into the future).

Whatever one’s view the reality is that considering a new British model must be earnestly and thoughtfully debated. The economic crisis is putting strains on both the private and public sector from unemployment and falling production to ever-increasing national debt and budget deficits.

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On 12 May, I highlighted on this blog the problems that the Postal Services Bill might encounter in the House of Commons, following a relatively smooth passage through the Lords. So what has happened since then and is the Government on-course to get the Bill passed before the summer recess?

21 May was the day that things began happening in the Commons with regard to the PSB. On this date, the Bill received its first reading. However, this stage is just a formality and no debate or vote takes place. Now usually what happens after this first stage is that a Bill progresses to its second reading circa two weeks later, at which there is a debate on the principle - rather than the detail - of the Bill. However, no date has been set for the PSB to receive its second reading; given the controversial nature of this Bill, it would appear that time is running out.
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I’ve been somewhat perplexed by the reaction of some sections of the media towards Digital Britain this morning. From, ‘More sketch than blueprint’, to ‘The show goes on’, to the frankly inaccurate ‘The digital picture is still blurred’, many commentators have failed to appreciate the big picture.

Undoubtedly, with an agenda as big and ambitious as Digital Britain there was always going to be disappointment for some. However, I’m genuinely surprised that certain sections of the media have chosen to criticise Lord Carter’s framework to deliver next generation access. (more…)

I must confess I had low expectations about the recently published Digital Britain report. The news media prior to publication had invented a number of stories about how little would be delivered in the report many of which turned out to be wide of the mark. Judging by the press stories today after publication many had not read the report properly (although to be fair it is 245 pages) and the stories were on the whole negative. However there are some rays of sunshine in the report not least in the area of broadband and the universal service commitment. This is an area where on first generation broadband the UK was in the forefront but with Korea , Japan and others announcing new initiatives the UK was in danger of being left behind. The problem is that with the credit crunch and the need to bail/bale (sic) out the banks the Government is essentially rather short of cash. Although to fund the rollout of superfast broadband is fairly modest (£15-30Bn) in the scheme of things it would be politically difficult for the government to underwrite this amount. So, by the approach being taken of funding the USC by using funding left over from DSO and a mixture of other funding, it allows the industry to deliver by around 2012 a near 100% broadband coverage at 2MBit/s. In addition the industry is stepping up to delivering faster broadband by announcing plans to cover between 40-60% of the population with the levy on every telephone line delivering the rest. Ah I hear you say it is too little too late and why should we pay for the upgrades. We live in a culture where we expect everything free and if we can’t have it we don’t understand why. The UK BB market is one of the most competitive in the world and there is no margin for investment in new technology. What the levy does is to allow the operators to invest in covering the last third of the country which wouldn’t otherwise be covered, so as to give the benefits of better broadband for all. So far all I’ve seen in the press and on the blogs is that the levy is wrong but I’ve not seen anywhere an alternative solution that is better. Come on find me a better way of doing it!

Things in the City have been murky recently. Redundancies, reputational-damage and regulatory-overhaul have caused concern (to put it mildly) throughout the Square Mile. However, a good news story emerged about the capital when new research published earlier this week found that London’s ICT infrastructure is as ‘good as anywhere in the world’. The report, commissioned by the City of London, found the City has sufficient depth of network connectivity and enough data centre providers to offer network resilience and security to businesses. Also, from a human point of view, the skills to support the ICT infrastructure are currently a major strength of the City.

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Yes, according to one article, which highlights how the pending disruption to London’s transport infrastructure can help technology firms to sell the benefits of cloud computing, collaboration technologies and general business continuity. The strike action may also help businesses realise that their staff can be just as productive, regardless of whether they are at their desk or working from home.

So, as we bus, walk and cycle our way to and from work over the next few days, just remember, it’s not all bad news.