Scottish councils to get cyber maturity model
Scottish councils are to get a cyber security maturity model from a project run by their central digital organisation.
Andy Grayland, the new chief information security officer for the Scottish Digital Office, flagged up its development as a priority in his first blog for the organisation. He says the model can be used by executive teams as an objective measure of the cyber security programmes they champion, and act as benchmark against which council security professionals can set organisational targets.
Grayland adds that in the longer term he will work with council security experts on a collaborative set of tools and resources, and in compiling training materials.
CloudTrade to provide e-invoicing to Account NI
Northern Ireland’s finance shared service for government departments is to receive an e-invoicing function from specialist in the area CloudTrade. The company has been named as preferred supplier by BT, the Northern Ireland Executive’s partner in the service, to provide the relevant software.
It will fully automate Account NI’s accounts payable processes, supporting the aim of paying over 90% of suppliers within 10 days. It should also help the service to align with the EU directive on electronic invoicing in public procurement.
Geraldine McNulty, business director at BT, forecast that 30-35% of invoices would be transitioned to CloudTrade within the first three months.
DVLA updates vehicle enquiry Alexa skill
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has made changes in the skill for its Vehicle Enquiry service on Amazon Alexa software.
It has removed the need to type out a vehicle registration number each time, now requiring just three of the numbers, along with enabling the skill in the Alexa companion app, which brings up a new screen on a smartphone. It has also added the ability to ask when road tax is due.
The move marks a step in the early adoption of Alexa, a voice activated software, by public authorities. DVLA said the skill has now been used by more than 10,000 customers for over 60,000 vehicle enquiries.
Lichfield Council chooses Jadu Continuum CXM
Lichfield District Council has begun to use the Jadu Continuum CXM system to enable residents to track service requests. It has begun with cab tracking in its online waste service – which it shares with Tamworth Borough Council using Bartec waste collection software – and is working on a plan to extend it to others. It has pointed to the potential for its use in reporting an abandoned vehicle and street cleaning requests.
Image from GOV.UK, Open Goverment Licence v3.0
