Aberdeen launches fraud reporting tool
Aberdeen City Council has set up a portal for people to report suspected incidents of fraud in areas such as the welfare system, NHS, vehicle excise duty and claims on local authority services.
It already has a Corporate Investigation team to look into allegations of abuse of its services, and is engaged in a master data management programme to help verify information in the case management system and support the team’s work.
The council’s co-leader, Councillor Douglas Lumsden, said: “Not a day goes by where there are reports of new scams and frauds, which often involve targeting our elderly citizens, which is simply wrong. We need to put a stop to people who think they can use vital services to line their own pocket.”
GeoPlace launches Exemplar Awards
GeoPlace has opened its annual Exemplar Awards programme for councils that use address or street data in innovative ways. Past winners include authorities that have used their gazetteers to underpin many aspects of local government business.
Categories this year include: Exemplar Award, Peer Award, Data Quality and Improvement Awards, and Britain’s Most Fantastic Address Award (sponsored by the Office for National Statistics). The awards will be presented at GeoPlace's annual conference and exhibition on 10 May at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham. More information from here.
Emergency services at cyber risk
The UK’s emergency services are at risk of a major cyber attack, according to a landscape analysis by threat intelligence provider Anomali. It said there are a number of weak spots in the UK’s critical national infrastructure, notably in the emergency services and the Defence Equipment and Supply Organisaiton.
There are also vulnerabilities in the energy infrastructure, with all 15 nuclear reactors owned by EDF and geographically clustered, according to the analysis.
Scots gets online support for eating disorders
The Scottish Government has launched an online peer support tool to help combat eating disorders. It pairs young people with a problem with a trained volunteer who has recovered from a disorder such as anorexia or bulimia. It will run alongside a new website, the CarED platform, which hosts video tutorials and links for parents and carers, and a database of services across the country.
NHS Lothian built the site with Scottish Government funds.
Civica acquires OneStep
Civica UK has acquired OneStep Solutions, provider of cloud based applications and related services to support debt recovery. Its products are used by local authorities and commercial agencies in over 1,000 installations.
The acquisition gives Civica a capability it did not previously hold, and will provide an integrated platform with client web portal, mobile solutions for field agents and an online payments facility.
