Tag Archives: Government

The UK’s emergency alerts system is expected to cost up to £25.3 million in its first three years, the government has confirmed, after previously declining to give any figure.

Last month, in the run-up to and following the nationwide test of the system on Sunday 23 April, we saw lots of false and misleading claims circulating on social media, including that it would track your location, would breach GDPR and was subcontracted to the company founded by Rishi Sunak’s father-in-law.

We also saw unevidenced claims circulating on social media about the likely cost. Many claimed the test alone would cost £22 million, with this figure being shared hundreds of times on Twitter and Facebook. (The Daily Mail previously reported that the whole system would cost £22…

In March, various government servers at the National Information Technology Centre (NITC) experienced issues one after another. Initially reported as a simple technical problem, the NITC later reported that it lost data from various government agencies.

Stating that digital data loss was due to technical reasons, the NITC has not been able to find out how many details they lost and how.

The NITC’s list of responsibilities is long. It has been tasked with the responsibility of storing, managing and processing government data along with ensuring its safety. It also needs to provide shared computing resources, consult the government on various IT-related issues, register government domains and manage government networks.

At the same time, the NITC–which helps the government in…

The Isle of Man government is hosting a British-Irish Council meeting this week.

The Ministerial meeting will focus on the Creative Industries Work Sector, with discussions about social prescribing in primary care settings and wellbeing within the sector.

Ministers will also consider a plan for supporting the growth of the sector through the use of technology.

In recent years, members have shared their learning and experiences in developing and supporting the creative industries sector…

A post shared by thousands of people on Twitter wrongly claims that the government spends “£17m a year subsidising food in Parliament”. 

The post, which has also been shared a number of times on Facebook, goes on to say that the £17 million total is “ £30,000 per MP and that’s BEFORE expenses”. 

This is completely inaccurate. As we have written before, catering services on the parliamentary estate are effectively subsidised by the taxpayers at a cost of millions of pounds each year. However, the yearly total is significantly lower than £17 million and catering services are offered to thousands of people working there—not just MPs. 

False or misleading claims about politicians have the potential to affect people’s opinions of individuals, parties or…