The site lays out my position a little more clearly. For now, I have a reading list of the papers that really helped me shape my early thinking. Will be adding more resources as we go
"the use of the #Fediverse and #Mastodon by #government agencies offers a new paradigm in #publicsector communication, marked by increased security, autonomy, and inclusivity. However, it also brings challenges in terms of reach and complexity. As the digital landscape evolves, it is crucial for government agencies to stay informed and agile, adapting their communication strategies to serve the public effectively & responsibly." https://about.iftas.org/2024/03/06/open-social-for-the-common-good/
Given the wreckage already caused by Hunt & his predecessors this must be the final nail in coffin of any idea that the #Tories have any interest in the well-being of the country.
He would be hard pushed to stoop lower than trying to bribe #Voters with money he's stealing from them in the coming years to undermine the services they need!
A new report from National Audit Office suggests massive cuts to #legalaid have not saved the #publicsector much money because its made some cases more expensive (i.e. when defendants represent themselves), while pushing costs onto other parts of the public sector (as in #housing disputes).
Not only that, the reduction in #lawyers willing to take on legal aid work means it is impossible to ascertain whether those eligible can access legal representation.
Information on taking part in this year's Services Week. An annual event series run by the #Government Digital and Data community for people working in the UK #PublicSector.
The #IMF has warned #JeremyHunt against #taxcuts & suggested he needs to rebuild the devastated (my word not theirs) #publicsector... but before you get all warm & fuzzy about the IMF, they also agree the BoE should maintain its #interestrates policy... so don't be confusing a pragmatic desire to see the public sector 'repaired' with any notion they're on the side of #workers struggling with high interest rates & #enforcedpoverty!
'We are told on repeat that public services are unaffordable. Really, there are plenty of ways to fund them – it is just that a populist press & most politicians do not deem it legitimate'!
You'll be unsurprised to know that even now #Fujitsu is still a major supplier of #software services to the #publicsector.... just to rub salt into the woulds of those defrauded by the #POstOffice & whose lives were ruined by lying Fujitsu employees & managers.
If you wanted an index on how out-of-touch (or conversely unconcerned ) he is with the plight of the general population this would be it.
The #housingcrisis, the #NHScrisis, the problem(s) of #inequality & other social disruptions will not be solved by more austerity & tax cuts... rather, they will me made worse & #voters know this...
If you've been following either the reporting of the #PostOffice#Horizon inquiry, or it dramatisation on TV, you'll likely be surprised (as I was) that #RishiSunak seems to have awarded #Fujitsu another #publicsector contract, this time for the UK's emergency alert system (at £20m per year).
This is not just reward for failure this is rewarding people who were prepared to lie to put innocent postmasters in jail.
The IPPR thinks it will take two terms to reverse the damage wrought on the #publicservies by the #Tories.... sadly I think they are under-estimating the damage the Tory strategy has caused the underlying social structures that support the #publicsector.
Don't get me wrong the work needs to start & will certainly take a decade, but the reversal will take decades to finally rid us of the legacy of a toxic decade of #austerity...
The more immediate Q. is: is #KeirStarmer the man to do it????
My father-in-law is a farmer, and has always supplied his crops to farmer cooperatives. Year after year, the cooperatives' financials improve, but the margins for farmers shrink. Reading the financial statements (which are public but well hidden, of course), it's discovered that each year the executives' salaries, the president's, and the employees' increase, and bonuses are awarded to them when the harvests or profits are better than previous years. In practice, the farmer doesn't benefit, except marginally, from a particularly good year for the cooperative. He's been a board member for years and, when he tried to raise this issue, he was gradually and 'elegantly' dismissed from his position, replaced by figures less agricultural and more bureaucratic.
Many Italian public entities own private but publicly owned companies. These entities are obliged to use these companies, often with lower service quality and higher prices than the free market. In theory, this should be an advantage for the community, but in practice, it leads to a decrease in the competitiveness of service prices and lower revenues for local companies, made non-competitive by the obligation. The result is that, year after year, the costs of services increase and we hear about 'record budgets', but, in fact, the only ones earning more are the presidents, board members, officials, and employees. The citizen, however, sees the cost of the service increasing year after year.
I read everywhere about controversies related to the CEO of Mozilla's compensation, and I'm not surprised. It doesn't matter whether it's about distributing 'sugared water (quote)', hardware, public services, agricultural products, or anything else: when there's a lot of money involved, the figures 'at the top' are very, very far from what really happens below. It's pure business.
Regarding this, I will tell an experience related to the BSD Cafe - but I will have to phrase it well as I don't want to be misunderstood or generate controversy and/or bad feelings.
Much of Italian entrepreneurship (especially post-war, but not only) has been tied to people passionate about a product, who have built empires (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Del Vecchio with LuxOttica, Ferrero, and many others). When the boss is actually a Leader with vision and passion, things can work. And it's not a matter of money. Money may come, but as a consequence, not as a target.
When, instead, a 'generic' entrepreneur is put in charge, the product loses its importance - like when a computer company was led by someone who, until the day before, sold 'sugared water', precisely.
Q. if you are unable to legally strike, how close have we come to some #publicsector workers being press-ganged into service?
If you are forced to work (given that having no job/being sacked would under current benefit arrangements be severely detrimental to wellbeing) then its no wonder it might be against those aspects of #internationallaw related to #workersrights.
But I guess the #Tories will see this as breaking Int.Law in a 'limited & specific way'!
While #RAAC revelations raised the profile of #infrastructure problems & lack of maintenance across the #publicsector, especially in #health & #education, if you're expecting #JeremyHunt to fund a massive programme of remedial works, then you're likely to be disappointed.
Rather than dealing with our crumbling buildings, he'll be setting out how to increase #taxes on most of us (by allowing 'fiscal drag' - not using allowances - to continue) while helping the rich by cutting #InheritanceTax!
Im looking for examples of government agencies in the EU or elsewhere, who manage and support other agencies in the same country with IT services, and specifically those who manage servers in the Fediverse for other agencies. Do you have any suggestions of such? Or perhaps can repost this question? #fediverse#mastodon#governmentit#socialmedia#publicsector#EU
Lamenting the lack of #gender & #ethnic diversity in #science in the UK, Anjana Ahuja (FT) concudes:
'it should not surprise us that Covid hit marginalised communities disproportionately hard. When scientists, researchers and policymakers view problems through the same narrow lens, they miss the bigger picture'!
The #LabourParty seems to be feeling its way towards a workable policy on the staffing aspect of the #NHSCrisis;
They seem to be exploring student debt forgiveness for #nurses & #doctors entering the service (with a form of 'golden handcuff' condition of minimum length of service)... its a relatively simple but effective route to address at least some aspects of the #NHS' problems.
A key Q. is whether this might also work in other parts of the #publicsector suffering recruitment problems?
No-one will be surprised that the #watercrisis has worsened during a period when the #EnvironmentalAgency reduced its compliance visits by nearly half.
On one level this is merely the latest aspect of the #Tories defunding of the #publicsector, while it also reflects a belief in the agency that meaningful inspections can be desk-based... the evidence in the water (as it were) contradicts that assessment.
📣 Ab sofort findet Ihr in der Open #Telekom Cloud @OpenTalkMeeting als Managed Service oder On-Prem-Modul! 😀 Die DSGVO-konforme Videokonferenzlösung für die öffentliche Verwaltung. Sicher, effizient, europäisch. 🌐
Wir freuen uns über diese neue Partnerschaft und die Möglichkeit OpenTalk im #PublicSector großflächig zur Verfügung zu stellen.
Sie interessieren sich für #LowCode und #NoCode? Sie wollen mehr über neue Ansätze erfahren, die eine schnellere, effizientere und flexiblere IT ermöglichen?
Am 27.09. lädt die Low-Code Association e.V. in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Land Niedersachsen und dem SIBB e.V. zu Europas größter herstellerneutralen Kongressmesse "Low-Code Day" in Hannover ein. Wir beteiligen uns als Wissenschaftspartner an der Veranstaltung.