Answers
Why are sustainability costs so high and why are LAs expected to pay when it is in the interests of Central Government that LAs join a secure network.
There will no charge until 1 April 2011. After that time it is expected that operational costs will be shared across the GCSX user community. The GC Programme Board, which includes representation from LGA, Socitm, Local Government Delivery Council, IDeA and Tameside Council have agreed that a single GCSX service charge based on bandwidth share will be published once negotiations the service providers for the continued provision of the GCSX service beyond March 2011 are complete. Key stakeholders will be consulted during this process. The costs are not anticipated to be high and reflect the true costs of operating secure infrastructure. The programme approach maximises the purchasing power to deliver good value for money. Cost / supply chain efficiencies will be gained and (will continue to be gained) as a standard IT services are adopted throughout central and local Government. The benefits of local authorities joining GCSX will accrue to both local and central government. For evidence of this please see the various case studies on this website as well as the IDeA Community of Practice for the GC Benefits Realisation Fund.
When do connection bills start for a local authority?
Because of the £33m investment from DWP, CLG and DCSF, costs for the provision of the GCSX service are covered until 31st March 2011. Local authorities should assume they will be liable for the cost of continued connectivity beyond this date.
Will Cable & Wireless bill local authorities for their GCSX costs?
As of 1st April 2011 it is anticipated that local authorities will be billed directly by the GCSX service provider (currently C&W). We recognise the need for local authorities to forward plan and understand the likely costs of retaining GCSX connectivity beyond 31st March 2011 and will look to further clarify the exact circumstances relating to the ongoing costs of providing a GCSX service as soon as possible.
Who are approved vendors and what can they offer?
Government Connect does not approve any vendors to supply products on GCSX. See this link for further information: www.cesg.gsi.gov.uk
What is the cost for a Local Authority to sign up to GCSX?
Because of the £33m investment from DWP, CLG and DCSF, costs for the provision of the GCSX service are covered until 31st March 2011. Local authorities will need to cover any internal costs such as the procurement of any local hardware (if necessary) and any local changes required in order for the local authority to become compliant with the Code of Connection. From 1st April 2011 operational costs are expected to be shared across the GCSX user community.
What approach will the Government Connect team adopt in using Government Connect Solutions to re -engineer business processes?
GCSX provides secure IT connectivity between local authorities, between local authorities and central government departments and between local authorities and other key delivery partners such as the NHS and Police. It supports the Transformation Agenda and integrated, citizen-centric service provision by enabling information to be captured once and transferred securely and quickly across organisations.
Whilst the programme does not deliver business process re-engineering it is working to support the development of opportunities for improved information sharing across government and promote the opportunities enabled and business processes improved across local government due in part to the establishment of GCSX.
If the GCSX connection is linking to a local authority that then provides information to citizens through their internet connection, is this not making the network unsecure?
The Code of Connection requires connecting organisations to install a firewall between their Local Area Network (LAN) and the GCSX router. In addition, evidence of other, appropriately placed, firewalls to all external connections (including the internet) will need to be provided in the form of a network diagram, before the Code of Connection can be approved.
Local authorities are also required to train users appropriately to ensure that they do not pass sensitive information from GCSX to unauthorised recipients by unsecure means. Please see the Operational Support Guide for guidance on staff training.
Government Connect is providing free consultancy to local authorities in supporting them becoming compliant with the Code of Connection. To book your consultancy session, please contact gctech.team@dwp.gsi.gov.uk.
How does the Code of Connection for GCSX differ from that for the GSi?
Essentially the Code of Connections are the same with additional annexes for GCSX as with the GSX network in Scotland.
Will GC Mail mean that all emails by a local authority will be secure?
LAs will need to to set up second mailboxes for their users who have a requirement for sending mail securely. Users should use their existing .gov.uk addresses for all internet based emails. The individual user will choose to send/receive email from their appropriate inbox.
For further information on the implementation of GC Mail, please refer to the Pre-Connection Take on Guide.
Is there any exception to the rule that all persons using/administering GCSX must have appropriate security clearance?
All users and administrators of GCSX must be cleared to the Baseline Personal Security Standard. This also applies to any third party staff employed by the local authority to administer its IT.
Higher clearance may be required to access data transferred over the network, as appropriate (and determined by the data owners).
For further information on staff clearance, please refer to the Code of Connection FAQs document.
Can Government Connect provide monitoring reports of activity across the GCSX network?
Yes appropriately cleared GC / Local Authority staff can monitor some aspects of activity. In addition GC will be provided with activity reports by the Service Provider.
For information on activating your LA's access to network logs, please refer to the Operational Support Guide.
What is the relationship between Government Connect secure mail and that provided by Criminal Justice?
Government Connect and Criminal Justice both provide a Secure Mail solution. The Criminal Justice Secure Mail (CJSM) is provided to Users engaged in work with the Criminal Justice service. Unlike GCSX, it is an internet-based solution and should only be used in relation to Criminal Justice related data.
A GC mail account will enable local authority users to securely email staff in other local authorities, Central Government departments, NHS departments and the Police as well as Criminal Justice Secure Mail (CJSM) Users. It uses a private secure resilient network and is an enterprise solution. Local authorities should consider replacing their CJSM accounts with GCSX email accounts.
What is the relationship between Government Connect secure mail and that provided by NHS?
Government Connect and NHS both offer a secure way to send data via email (Government Connect Mail and NHS Mail respectively). Local authority staff can and indeed should, use a Government Connect Mail account (.gcsx.gov.uk) to send and receive patient data to and from health sector staff with NHS Mail accounts (.nhs.net). This has recently been confirmed in official guidance on the use of NHS mail.
A GCSX email account also enables local authority staff to securely email other local authorities, most central government departments and the police as well as the NHS staff.
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