On Monday 20 April, Madam Deputy Speaker, the UK Biobank charity informed the government that they had identified their data had been advertised for sale by several sellers on Ali Baba e-commerce platforms in China. Biobank told us that 3 listings that appear to sell UK Biobank participant data had been identified. At least one of these 3 datasets appears to contain data from all 500,000 UK Biobank volunteers. Additional listings offered support for applying for legitimate access to UK Biobank or analytical support for researchers who already have access to the data. I want to reassure the House up front however, that Biobank have advised that this data did not contain participants' names, addresses, contact details, or telephone numbers. The government has spoken to the vendor today and they do not believe that there were any purchases from the 3 listings before they were taken down.

Statement on the use of UK Biobank data, from DSIT minister Ian Murray MP www.gov.uk/government/s...

UK Biobank data security update www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/news/a-messa...

It'll all be fine, just keep emphasising that it's "de-identified" data …

#personaldata #datasharing #dataprotection

Screenshot of geocoded Basildon Borough Council address data visualised in Leaflet with background mapping from OpenStreetMap

Today's #openaddresses:

Basildon Borough Council, in the East of England, has released its Council Tax address list as open data www.owenboswarva.com/blog/post-ad...

Covers Basildon, Billericay, Wickford, other places – I have geocoded the property records for maps etc

#UKhousing #FOI #opendata

The laying of these regulations (plus the guidance and services we built to support LPAs) sets the foundations for national planning datasets.

Laura Trott I really appreciate the Minister engaging with this issue. However, some people could interpret "not having access" as children not being allowed to touch their phone during the school day, but still being allowed to have it in their bag. Can she be very clear today that that is not allowed under this guidance? Olivia Bailey I can be extremely clear on that, as I have just been. We are categorically crystal clear that there is no access to phones at any point during the school day. The guidance says that. We have removed from the guidance that we have published any reference to any kind of "not seen, not heard" policy in the case studies. We are completely clear: no access to phones at any point during the school day. It is not for me to determine how a headteacher enforces their discipline and behaviour policies in their school, and this is ultimately a question of enforcement. I gently point out that we had to act to fix the weak guidance left by the Conservative party. I ask her to reflect on the fact that phones and social media were not invented in July 2024 — her party had 14 long years to take the decisive action that we have now taken.

The Tories had 14 long years but just didn't tech panic hard enough

"The rise of social media really came about in a serious way in 2015 or 2016 with the rise of front-facing cameras."

That randomly selected opinion is from today's Commons debate on the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2026...

It was at Aston University, Twitter agrees with me

No that's a different city

I could have sworn Open Data Camp was in Birmingham once before, does anybody else remember that? www.odcamp.uk/open-data-ca...

Is this the Mandela Effect

I see ONS has been doing some work in this area but last year refused an FOI request for figures – on the basis that "release of this information would be likely to endanger the physical and mental health of individuals and therefore poses a risk to public safety" www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/tran...

Hmm

Although the study's findings don't entirely support the prevailing narrative: "Previous suggestions that the incidence of nitrite/nitrate assisted suicide is rare in the UK are not supported by our findings."

Andy Burrows, Chief Executive of Molly Rose Foundation, said: "Professor Ahluwalia's research highlights the devastating impact of this substance in the UK and it is shocking it is still widely available and being promoted on a pro-suicide forum. "It is crucial that authorities tackle the root source of this deadly harm and Ofcom must now use all the powers at their disposal to shut down the forum for good. Government must go further to upgrade regulation of the substance in the UK and coordinate a stronger response on the frontline to stop it entering from abroad and to respond effectively when ordered and consumed by vulnerable people."

More pressure on Ofcom to take action against that US-based suicide forum:

First UK study into the prevalence of poison in deaths by suicide www.qmul.ac.uk/news/latest-...

Ahluwalia et al doi.org/10.1136/bmjp...

Investigation www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...

#OnlineSafetyAct #openweb #techpolicy

Open Data Camp 11 – Save the Date Dear friends of open data We’re excited to announce that Open Data Camp 11 is coming to Birmingham on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November 2026 Join us at the for a weekend of unconference sessions, …

Open Data Camp (@odcamp.uk) is coming to #Birmingham on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November 2026 💚💚💚

www.odcamp.uk/open-data-ca...

Tickets will be free (as always) and available soon.

#excited 🙂
#CivicTech
#OpenData
#unconference

Updates to key commitments To accelerate our support for the public, we have reviewed our current portfolio and made the following strategic changes: • Pausing the Digital Sourcing Strategy until 1 May 2026: We are moving our focus from writing new guidance for officials to the active work of the Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence. This team is currently renegotiating major technology contracts to secure taxpayer savings, which we will reinvest into the digital foundations that keep frontline services running reliably. • Closing internal AI pilots to focus on frontline "big bets": Our early experiments, including Parlex, Redbox, Caddy, and Medguard, successfully showed how AI can improve workplace efficiency. However, several of these are now superseded by more modern, widely available platforms. By closing these internal pilots and sharing our findings through the AI Knowledge Hub, we can redirect our expert teams to solve deep-rooted issues in areas like social housing and education. We will continue to develop only those tools with the highest public impact, such as 'Extract' and 'Consult'. • Refocusing the Data and AI Ethics Framework into the National Data Library: While the ethical guidance we produced remains a vital resource on GOV.UK, we are now prioritising the practical use of data for the common good. This allows us to build the actual technical plumbing (the API Mandate) required for the National Data Library. For the citizen, this means their data is handled more securely and can be used more effectively to improve public services.

The UK Government is "refocusing the Data and AI Ethics Framework into the National Data Library" committees.parliament.uk/publications... recent DSIT update to Commons SITC, on digital government

Devs are going to … plump some ethics into the NDL project?

#govtech #techpolicy #dataethics

It is important that all LPAs record and publish their data in the same way. When they do, we can have a clear, national picture of plan-making progress and housing ambitions across England. Timetable data will show the status of local plan preparation nationwide while standardised plan data will give us a clear, consistent view of required housing numbers for each local plan. This transparency will directly support the government's commitment to delivering 1.5 million new homes this Parliament. Consistent, open data will also make it easier for citizens and organisations to bring together and compare planning information from different authorities. And open data creates opportunities for new tools, products and services that can make planning clearer and more accessible for everyone.

Data standards: Laying the groundwork for an open, faster, data-driven planning system mhclgdigital.blog.gov.uk/2026/04/22/d...

New regs (for England) www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/42...

Approved data standard www.gov.uk/government/p... (including OGL👍)

#planningdata #datastandards #opendata

Follow-up: the Government has now published its own amendment bsky.app/profile/owen...

Screenshot of Government amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, adding a clause to the Education Act 1996: Guidance on use of mobile phones etc in schools in England

The UK Government has now published its amendment to ban mobile phones in schools in England, by putting recent guidance on a statutory footing:

New clause for Education Act 1996 publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbi...

DfE guidance www.gov.uk/government/p...

#CWSBill #smartphones #childrights

Screenshot of geocoded Tendring District Council address data visualised in Leaflet with background mapping from OpenStreetMap

More #openaddresses from our friends in local government:

Tendring District Council, in the East of England, has released its Council Tax address list as open data www.owenboswarva.com/blog/post-ad...

Includes Clacton-on-Sea and many other fine towns

#UKhousing #localgov #proptech #FOI #opendata

It should be noted that assessment against a 15th Service Standard point focused on sustainability only applies currently to projects going through Defra service assessments and not to those going through full GDS service assessments. However, we are working closely with GDS and the work that Defra is leading on will inform updates to the GDS Service Manual and Service Standard in due course, as well rollout of this through all government departments.

Making digital services more sustainable: introducing a 15th service standard point defradigital.blog.gov.uk/2026/04/21/m...

Defra Digital has added a requirement "alongside" the existing 14 points in the GDS service standard digital.defra.gov.uk/sustainability

#govtech #servicestandards #hegemony

Screenshot of an infographic tweeted on X by the UK Labour Party: "With Labour, NHS treament waiting lists have fallen"

Just keep posting through it babes, nobody cares about spelling at a time like this

'Celerity' isn't a very effective word, is it? Semantically it should convey action and excitement but it's just too close to 'celery', which is boring.

Still making good use of my English Lit degree anyway

Senior London Labour figures have been charged after a criminal investigation into alleged vote rigging. Joel Bodmer, 40, Shila Bodmer, 41, Gabriel Leroy, 24, and former Croydon councillor Carole Bonner, 69, have been charged with conspiracy and computer misuse in relation to irregularities surrounding the candidate selection process for Croydon East at the 2024 general election. Mr Bodmer, an organiser with the trade union Unison who was a prospective candidate in the seat, is also charged with perverting the course of justice after allegations phone records were changed. Labour confirmed that they all been suspended from the party.

Unfortunate timing for UK Labour with local elections next month, but this has been coming for a while:

Senior London Labour figures charged after criminal investigation into alleged vote rigging www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...

#CroydonEast #GE2024 #voterigging #dataprotection

Ofcom has opened investigations into Telegram and "teen chat sites" Chat-Avenue and Teen-Chat www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...

Ofcom is also evidently pleased that various file-sharing providers have made their services "unavailable to UK users"

#OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #openweb #techpolicy

Phones to be banned in schools by law in England under government plans Education minister Jacqui Smith said the move would create

I suspect the government is going to get another crash course in the law of unintended consequences when pushing through overly restrictive knee-jerk policies without properly considering implications, especially, but not limited to, students with higher support needs.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Phones to be banned in schools by law in England under government plans Education minister Jacqui Smith said the move would create

This is not a good use of legislation. When did banning a thing for some people but not others in society with a law address the root causes perceived to be associated with that thing? Unworkable and not helpful imo.

That's not the amendment, though. 106 was proposed and supported in the Lords, but not the Commons. Government has now said it will introduce its own amendment banning smartphones in schools but: "The details of the government's amendment have not yet been published." www.bbc.com/news/article...

Screenshot from Reddit: Verify your age to keep using communication features 20/4/2026 Complete Age Verification Now As part of our compliance with global regulations, you'll need to verify your age later this year to continue using Playstation communication features, such as messages and voice chat. It's a one-time check and usually takes just a few minutes. Begin Age Verification Now

Sony will require age checks in the UK to access PlayStation communication features www.playstation.com/en-gb/suppor...

It's important to protect the youth from inappropriate content or talking among themselves

Why not comply in advance?

#ageverification #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #gaming

It appears the Met Police are still telling people they can't process speeding admissions electronically "by law" when actually it's just a system limitation in their online portal www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/whic...

🧵 #FOI

MPs who have withdrawn from the Commons Chamber or who have been suspended commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri... useful report (Excel workbook) from the UK House of Commons Library, soon to be updated no doubt

Licensing Best Practices for the Sharing of Scientific Data - Creative Commons Creative Commons publishes the report Licensing Best Practices for Sharing Scientific Data, a guide for researchers and data producers.

Today, we are sharing our newest report, "Licensing Best Practices for Sharing Scientific Data", which extends the open data practices originally designed for climate data in our 2023 report "Recommended Best Practices for the Better Sharing of Climate Data" to other disciplines.

buff.ly/mkmMe2S

Hi, has this new research been published anywhere? The media coverage doesn't link to it and, as far as I can see, neither does the press release on your website www.rsph.org.uk/news/public-...