Tech today

Approval has been given to create a new government location boasting new technology and housing about 2,600 civil servants from the likes of the Cabinet Office and UK Security Vetting Construction of a six-storey civil service hub in York has been given the green light. The City of York Council Planning Committee granted planning permission to the Government Property Agency, Homes England and Network Rail at a meeting yesterday. Described in planning documents as “a modern workplace for circa 2,600 full-time employees”, the building is expected to be completed in 2027-28. Some Cabinet Office officials, including UK Security Vetting staff who currently work at Imphal Barracks in the city, are expected to be among those based at the hub. The 195,000-sq-ft hub will include a ground-floor retail unit and coffee shop and an outdoor terrace space at the top of the building as well as office space. The 1 Cinder Street office is the first step in a wider plan to develop York Central,...

The tech shutdown, caused by a faulty update of security software from CrowdStrike, disrupted both primary and secondary care on Friday, but health service says that issues are, largely, resolved NHS England has this morning announced that health service “systems are now back online” following disruption caused by the global Microsoft outage. As the shutdown – caused by a faulty update of security software from CrowdStrike – took hold on Friday morning, the NHS revealed that the issues had affected the EMIS clinical IT system. According to EMIS, its software is used by almost three in five general practice surgeries across the country, as well as by more than 40% of pharmacies. As a result of the tech issues, patients were initially advised by the NHS to “only contact your GP if it’s urgent”. In a further statement issued on Friday afternoon, the health service added that “there are also some issues with administrative systems in hospitals that mean staff are having to work manua...

As campaigners have reignited calls for government to reverse plans to wholly digitise the immigration status system, the Home Office has signed a contract to help offline users make applications The Home Office has signed a multimillion-pound contract covering the delivery of digital support for those applying for immigration status that might otherwise be excluded from online services. The department is in the process of delivering a wholesale digitisation programme, with the ultimate aim being to eliminate all physical immigration documents by the end of next year. As more and more elements of the immigration system move to digital provision, the Home Office “has an obligation to provide an assisted digital service that ensures its online services are accessible to everyone”, according to a newly published procurement notice. To provide such a service the department has signed a three-year deal with specialist provider We Are Digital. The training and support firm has previous...

Patients are advised by the NHS to only contact their local doctor with urgent queries, while ministers work on cohesively responding to issue impacting businesses and transport around the world The majority of GP surgeries across the country are among the victims of the ongoing global Microsoft outage that has also caused major difficulties for companies and transport services around the world. The outage – which resulted in many individual users turning on their machine today to be met with the notorious ‘blue screen of death – was caused by problems with a software update made overnight by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. In a statement issued this morning, NHS England acknowledged that the Microsoft outage has caused “an issue with EMIS” – the biggest provider of clinical IT systems to GPs and pharmacies around the country. The firm’s website claims that its software supports 58% of general practices and 41% of pharmacies – encompassing more than 10,000 individual care provider...

Chinese express delivery and logistics service provider SF Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with air cargo handler SATS to expand the successful collaboration between the existing hub operations in Singapore and e-commerce handling in Liege, Belgium to other global hubs. The partnership will expand services to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and explore proofs of concept (PoCs) for e-commerce handling in Beijing and at New York’s JFK International Airport. The partners will also identify and build other network solutions or specialized services from more than 200 locations where SATS is present, using SF Group’s extensive demand channels. Continue reading SF Group to expand e-commerce handling with SATS partnership at Parcel and Postal Technology International.

Nordic postal and logistics operator PostNord has awarded Lockheed Martin a new three-year contract to continue support its cutting-edge mail sorting solution, Gemensam Läs Plattform (GLP). According to Lockheed, this contract will maintain a flexible operation for PostNord across Sweden using the company’s Next Generation Sortation Platform (NGSP), mail piece image analysis, address matching, smart sort decision making and mailpiece attributes resolution using artificial intelligence (AI) technology. “We are proud to support PostNord’s drive to enhance its mail and parcel service with postal technologies and services that drive flexibility and value for money,” said Emlyn Taylor, group managing director of Lockheed Martin’s rotary and mission systems business. Continue reading Lockheed Martin wins three-year PostNord support contract at Parcel and Postal Technology International.

European logistics provider XPO has expanded its multimodal transportation solutions with the launch of a new corridor between Antwerp in Belgium, and Istanbul in Turkey. The new 2,600km-long route combines road and rail transportation to reduce transit time from 10 days to eight, compared with road transportation alone. It will enable companies to move greater volumes of products between the two trade hubs. According to XPO, the new multimodal corridor also offers customers more regular service throughout the year, even in peak season, while reducing road congestion. Continue reading XPO Logistics launches multimodal Belgium-Turkey transportation corridor at Parcel and Postal Technology International.

The latest trial of drone delivery services has been launched by Royal Mail, this time delivering mail between two remote Scottish islands, in collaboration with Skyports and Argyll and Bute Council. The trial, which is running between the remote isles of Islay and Jura in the Inner Hebrides until 26 July, with postal workers loading and unloading mail on both sides for the first time, is being funded partly by a £250,000 (US$324,000) grant from the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to showcase drones’ potential in enhancing public services. Continue reading Royal Mail trials drone delivery in Argyll and Bute at Parcel and Postal Technology International.

Punch Pubs, a leading pub company in the UK, has announced it will deploy Quadient’s Parcel Pending open locker network across its network of 1,261 pub locations, enhancing the accessibility and convenience of parcel deliveries and returns for communities nationwide. Quadient has identified 400 premium Punch Pubs locations for the initial parcel locker roll out, with installations planned for October. According to Quadient, by adding lockers to their locations, Punch Pubs publicans are “likely to experience increased foot traffic and positive customer engagement, while carriers benefit from streamlined operations, reducing congestion, delivery time and costs associated with last-mile deliveries and returns”. Continue reading Quadient expands locker network with Punch Pubs partnership at Parcel and Postal Technology International.