Industry news

A report released yesterday called ‘Transforming our justice system’ has set out the government’s plans to put technology to better use in courts. £1 billion has been set aside for the project of making English and Welsh courts ‘digital by default’ although some of the projects are already underway. “The revolution in technology will characterise tomorrow’s justice system,” said the report. Earlier in 2016, the National Audit Office criticised the MoJ for its IT systems which it claims is hampering attempts to reduce reoffending rates. The Ministry of Justice has a poor history of IT projects after the C-Nomis system was scrapped in 2009 (costing £234 million) and in 2014, it wrote off over £56 million on its shared services programme.

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The two-day summit provides the European and global sourcing community with an outstanding opportunity to learn about both global and local sourcing industry trends, new operating models and the latest global standard for sourcing excellence which will accredit both buyers and suppliers in the sourcing industry. With new speakers being announced daily and the prestigious EOA Awards being presented at a black tie dinner, the event promises to be a highlight for the European sourcing community.

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A new report from Computing Research has found that many UK businesses are underusing the cloud and not gaining the rewards of its full potential. The report suggested that over 75% of UK businesses are not using the cloud or are not relying on it for services. Many who responded said that one of the key reasons was fear that the pay-as-you-go system would increase running costs. The research also found that three quarters of organisations plan on increasing use of cloud technology in the next 12 months.

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A start-up called Luminance has gained the backing of Mike Lynch, founder of investment technology fund Invoke Capital and formerly Autonomy to use artificial intelligence to quickly read through legal documents. Luminance, set up by Cambridge University students, has been working with law firm Slaughter & May to speed up the legal process. Luminance has created software that it says can read and understand hundreds of pages of documents every minute, with clients charged according to usage. "Lawyers will be able to do the things that matter rather than trying to plough through 50,000 documents." Said Mr Lynch.

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The European Commission is aiming for all member states to provide free Wi-Fi in public places by 2020. The president of the European Union's executive body, Jean-Claude Juncker also wants one city in every EU nation to have 5G mobile network although nobody is quite sure what that would entail. “Everyone benefiting from connectivity means that it should not matter where you live or how much you earn” said Mr Junker. The European Commission has been criticised for its promise to halt roaming charges in 2013 which has led to scepticism from some commentators.

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The National Cyber Security Centre has warned that it is only a matter of time before the UK will fall foul of a serious cyber-attack. The CEO of the NCSC said "In the UK we've faced and continue to face some very serious cyber-attacks, it is just a matter of time before one achieves its ends.” at a cyber security summit in Washington. Mr Ciaran Martin referenced the attack on TalkTalk in 2015 which was thought at first to be highly sophisticated but was found to be a simple SQL injection.

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Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has agreed a contract with consulting agency Accenture to outsource several IT functions. According to those affected by the contract, many jobs at the agency will go as it removes the current IT sector, though some will be offered a place with Accenture to continue work under a new employer. CMHC said that the move “will help them become more agile, reduce risk and serve clients better”. Accenture were chosen after a 10-month procurement process to support the “technology transformation” and manage the IT operations of the agency.

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In a move that has surprised nobody, the Bank of England has left interest rates at the historic low of 0.25%. The interest rate dropped last month in response to the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU and the bank has hinted that rates may fall further in coming months. It was noted that the economy appeared to have shrugged-off the referendum surprise but the long term pace economic of economic growth had likely slowed. When the Monetary Policy Committee next meet in November, we could see rates fall to 0.1% although it is likely the bank will wish to avoid negative rates, fearful of the health of the financial system.

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Britain has agreed a $24 billion contract with French energy firm EDF to build a nuclear power station at Hinkley Point. The deal is backed by Chinese cash and will be the first new nuclear reactor in the UK for decades. However, the deal also marks a more cautious approach to foreign investment from the UK government after delays in signing the contract as the new Prime Minister examined all the options. It is believed that the government is seeking greater control over deals involving foreign states into ‘critical sectors’. “We will introduce a series of measures to enhance security and will ensure Hinkley cannot change hands without the government's agreement," Greg Clark, business minister, said in a statement confirming the governments scrutiny of the deal.

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US firm Concentrix will not be getting a renewed contract with HMRC to cut tax fraud and overpayment. Concentrix won the contract last May in a deal worth £75 million said it worked "within the guidance set by HMRC". However, a statement from HMRC chief executive Jon Thompson said: "While it's right that we ensure that tax credits customers only receive the money to which they're entitled, it is vital that those customers have a high level of service.” HMRC will redeploy 150 staff members to ensure customers can get through to advisors so they can resolve issues.

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