Benjamin Welby

@bm

Following Jesus, husbanding and dadding, supporting #bcafc. Displaced Yorkshireman in Croydon. Governor @minsterinfants.bsky.social. Digital government, public service, hope. TBI; formerly DWP, NHS, GDS, OECD. These views are mine.

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Benjamin Welby@bm· 10d

Samsung just announced an all time quarterly profit (quarterly!) of $62 *billion* and here they are gating access to emergency services. This is properly dystopian.

Screenshot from the Samsung SmartThings app headed “In an emergency, request help through the Safe button.” Supporting text explains that users can share their location by sending a help request to members, while a highlighted sentence says Premium users can access emergency dispatch services more quickly and easily.

Benjamin Welby@bm· 11d

It is a total dustbowl at Beddington as the U19s play Dulwich. Finely poised at 147-8 with 5 overs to play chasing 180 to win.

Wide view of a cricket match taking place on a dry, brown grass field in a tree-lined park at dusk. Players are gathered around the central pitch, with a white sight screen on the left and a pale blue evening sky overhead.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Jul 6

I confess my eyebrow raised when they cut to the VAR booth prior to kickoff. And I think there is something to raise an eyebrow about. Equally, the penalty given was similar to the Modric one so fine. But also, why question the referee's judgement here but not against DRC?

Screenshot of a four-column table summarising officiating appointments for 12 FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout matches. The columns are "Match", "On-field referee team", "VAR team", and "Pattern". Each row lists the competing nations with flags, the nationality of the referee team, the nationalities of the three VAR officials, and a short description of the geographic makeup. The table shows a consistent pattern of internationally mixed officiating teams. Examples include South Africa v Canada with a Portuguese referee and Spanish, Brazilian and Argentine VAR officials; France v Sweden with an entirely UEFA VAR team (Netherlands, Belgium, Poland); England v DR Congo with a Jordanian referee and Qatar, UAE and USA VAR officials; and Brazil v Norway with a US referee and Nicaragua, Uruguay and Spain in the VAR booth. The final row, highlighted in bold, is Mexico v England, showing an Australian referee team and a VAR team made up entirely of Latin American officials from Colombia, Chile and Venezuela, with the pattern described as "Entirely Latin American VAR team.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Jul 4

8 hours of queueing. Success.

A sunlit view over a packed Wimbledon Court 18, with spectators filling the stands as a player in white walks near the baseline on the grass court under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Jul 4

Took Ezra and Eleanor to The Queue. I've never done it before. We got here at 0501 and have just got queue card 09865 so I think we might be in luck! Just!

À Wimbledon Queue Card numbered 09865 for Saturday 4 July 2026 rests on a child’s pink watermelon lunch bag on a picnic blanket, with grass and another blanket in the background.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Jun 10

An absolute classic of the genre.

AI summary from bing.com in response to the query 'what is 1600 UK to EST': 1300 EST time (1:00 PM EST) To convert 1600 UK time to EST, you need to subtract 5 hours. Therefore, 1600 UK time is 1300 EST time (1:00 PM EST). This is because Eastern Standard Time (EST) is 5 hours behind UK time.

The summary links through to a site called Worldtime Buddy.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Jun 2

I have gone through the motions and reported it to the Met because however little can be done reporting for the purposes of statistics still matters imo. Not really sure what security reasons prevent the Met from emailing me a record of it though.

Screenshot taken from the Met Police crime reporting web service reads: "For security reasons we haven't emailed your report to you. You can download a copy of it, using the button below"

Benjamin Welby@bm· May 30

Sympathies with the Gunners on tonight's result. Google have now also stripped them of that erroneous victory they were attributing to them before kick off.

A screenshot of a Google search result. The query was 'have arsenal won the champions league' and the AI generated result indicates:
Arsenal Championships won:
4 - Premier League 1997, 2001, 2003
0 - UEFA Champions League

Benjamin Welby@bm· May 30

Another exhibit for the case against Google being a reliable search engine.

Benjamin Welby@bm· May 15

Serves little purpose to dwell but we was robbed. From the resulting corner, Bonham makes a superb save, Jackson heads home from an offside position. Bolton go up the other end and Baldwin miscontrols and we concede. 120 seconds after the failure to give this penalty it was all over. #bcafc

Benjamin Welby@bm· May 8

I agree and also I don't. Because 2012 me absolutely thought he was part of an identifiable movement for exactly that. But 2026 me has to accept that it did not translate into much more than shinier digital practice with limited impact on the actual art of governing (at least in this country).

When I joined the Government Digital Service (GDS) in May 2012 I felt incredibly lucky. I became part of a movement with a mission to transform government. For me, the opportunities offered by technology were not about shiny new interfaces or misty-eyed enthusiasm for the latest gadgets. The mission of GDS was far more profound: transforming lives and reshaping the very fabric of how to govern.

Those beliefs weren’t new. Long before GDS existed, I’d been captivated by the promise of the Internet as a force for good, powered by the amazing GovCamp community (my first was LocalGovCamp Lincoln in 2009). In 2010 I wrote my MSc dissertation (Doing I.T. Ourselves: Citizen-produced websites and their relationship to public services) on how public services were being reshaped by citizens themselves. In response to the news of GDS’ creation I wrote AlphaLocalGov (May 2011) and then Government as a Local Platform (February 2012) So, it was pretty clear that I believed that embracing digital principles could help government become more open, more responsive, more trusted, more effective, and more attuned to the needs of its citizens (ideas I got to write up in The impact of digital government on citizen well-being, May 2019).

So when I joined GDS, I saw the mission as far more than building a better website. Being part of the ‘digital centre’ was to be part of advocating for a transformation in the relationship between the state and its people. The strength of the “Better for Less” argument wasn’t solely about efficiency; it was about governing better, to genuinely improve lives and build a society where trust in public institutions was strengthened through transparency and accountability.

But maybe my personal perspective was always overly optimistic.

Excerpt from https://ukdgr.wel.by/evolution-revolution-reformation-what-next-for-digital-government-in-the-uk/

Benjamin Welby@bm· May 7

Unbelievable for Premier Christian News to send out a daily email with the lead story being this on an election day (or frankly any day at all given the chasm between the gospel and the politics of that party). Article itself was published on Tuesday and offers no scrutiny or anything newsworthy.

Premier Christianity email with the headline 'Reform UK's top strategist: 'I'm a practising Anglican hanging on by my fingernails'

Benjamin Welby@bm· Apr 7

Roblox is making me absolutely hate it with every fibre of my being. Redeemed a gift card for E's account. Except apparently I created an account of my own. The AI support claims to want to transfer it but it fails and exits with this unhelpful message. My email is verified on his account.

I'm sorry, but we don't have enough information to verify ownership of this account. Without verification, I'm unable to assist further with this request. If you need help in the future, please ensure your account has a verified email address for easier support. Thank you for understanding.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Mar 7

The scene is set and making it four Saturdays in a row for the first time in a very, very long time. This time Ezra in for Eleanor who's done three of those four. #bcafc

View towards the Kop inside Valley Parade ahead of kick off in the Bradford City vs Leyton Orient League One fixture today on 07/03/2026. The stand is packed with supporters wearing claret and amber, many waving flags. A large banner stretches across the stand reading “THIS IS OUR HOUSE. THIS IS BRADFORD CITY.” Despite it being 3pm the floodlights glow against an overcast sky while fans in the foreground stand, some holding phones to take photos. The green pitch fills the right side of the frame with the stand rising steeply behind it.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Feb 28

The scene is set. Eleanor and I really hope that we turn up this week after that shambles last Saturday. Christine and Ezra have decided to give it a miss. Fairweather the pair of em. #bcafc

Benjamin Welby@bm· Feb 21

Scene set. #bcafc

Wimbledon FC's Plough Lane stadium from behind the goal. The net is blue and yellow. The Bradford City players are wearing pink and in a huddle near the half way line. The Wimbledon players are in blue. Three sides of the ground are visible with the rear of the flats behind the Paul Strank Stand visible. The day is overcast and cloudy.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Feb 18

Mother in law is being offered broadband upgrades. Scandalous the prominence of a 24 month price that lasts for 6 weeks before going up *by over 10%*. Likewise a recommendation to upgrade 'for the same price you're paying' that lasts 6 weeks before increasing. Aren't there rules about this?

A screenshot of a broadband provider’s upgrade page showing three fibre package options displayed side by side.

On the left, “Your current package” is Fibre 1 with full fibre technology: 50Mb download speed for £30.98 per month for 24 months, with 10 Mbps upload speed and 25 Mbps guaranteed speed.

In the centre, marked “Recommended for you,” is Fibre 2 with Complete Wi-Fi: 74Mb download speed for £27.98 per month for 24 months, with 20 Mbps upload speed and 34 Mbps guaranteed speed. The price increases to 31.98 from 31/03/26 and to 35.98 from 31/03/26. A blue “Add to order” button appears below.

On the right, marked “Recommended – upgrade for same price you’re paying,” is Full Fibre 150 with Complete Wi-Fi: 150Mb download speed for £30.98 per month for 24 months, with 30 Mbps upload speed and 100 Mbps guaranteed speed. The price increases to £34.98 from 31/03/26 and then to £38.98 from 31/03/27. A blue “Add to order” button appears below.

Each package includes a “View details” link and a checkbox option to compare plans.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Feb 14

The unimaginable cruelty of the not-that-distant past brought home by the caption on a photo by Ian Beesley: Dolly was incarcerated in the Moor Psychiatric Hospital Lancaster for having an illegitimate child in her early teens. She never left and died 18 months after I took her photograph in 1994.

A framed black-and-white photograph displayed on a white brick wall shows an elderly woman with curly white hair and glasses holding up a large printed image of a baby’s face in front of her own. She points gently toward the baby’s cheek, visually linking youth and old age. Reflections from gallery lights are visible on the glass. The handwritten caption beneath reads: “Dolly was incarcerated in the Moor Psychiatric Hospital Lancaster for having an illegitimate child in her early teens. She never left and died 18 months after I took her photograph in 1994.” A signature appears at the lower right of the mount.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Feb 14

Loves a zip wire does that girl

A child rides a zip line across a sandy playground in Saltaire on a bright winter day. Wooden swings and climbing frames stand nearby, with Salts Mill and its tall chimney visible in the background beneath a clear blue sky.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Feb 14

Eleanor has taken me to Valley Parade for the day. But we're starting with a walk along the canal in Shipley. I think the last time I was actually here was to visit HMRC back in exemplar days. So that was a long enough time ago for it to now look like this...

View from the canal towpath in Shipley looking through a tall metal fence toward the former HMRC office site. The cleared riverside land and rubble are visible in the foreground, with wooded hills and houses beyond, and a modern apartment building on the right under a clear blue sky.

Aerial photograph of the former HMRC office complex in Shipley outlined in red, showing two large multi-storey brown office buildings beside the River Aire and the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. Salts Mill and its tall chimney are visible to the left, with surrounding residential streets and green fields in the background.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Jan 17

Yes, this is a suitable place to spend the day at Govcamp. #ukgc2026

Birmingham Council House in Victoria Square, seen from ground level, with stone steps, tram tracks in the foreground, a statue at the centre, and modern glass buildings rising behind under a blue sky.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Sep 29

Odd error in my Gmail account when trying to access my school governor London Grid for Learning email account. No option to do anything with it. Nothing visibly wrong in the browser version. And it's still syncing email to it even though it says it's offline.

To continue, you'll need to take additional action. Your account or device settings require you to complete additional steps before using the Gmail app. Cancel.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Sep 18

That's quite some technical difficulties going on at BibleGateway. Complete loss of all saved and stored materials. Complete denial of service to access it. One of the most reliable sources of Bible content just gone. What on earth has happened...

A screenshot of the BibleGateway website.

Content Unavailable
Bible Gateway is currently unavailable to consumers in the United Kingdom and European Union due to technical issues. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

Paid Bible Gateway Plus account users in these regions should receive a refund for their subscription no later than September 15, 2025. If you have not received a refund by this date, please reach out to Customer Service.

Frequently Asked Questions
When will access to Bible Gateway be restored for UK and EU consumers?
We are working on a new solution.

I have a paid subscription to Bible Gateway Plus. Will I be reimbursed?
Yes, users who have a paid Bible Gateway Plus account should receive a refund for their subscription no later than September 15, 2025. If you have not received a refund by this date, please reach out to Customer Service.

Will saved content (e.g., notes, progress) be accessible?
No, all account data and saved content will no longer be accessible. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

What content will be available once Bible Gateway is restored?
We are working on a new solution.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Jul 30

In Portugal a special tariff got created to help people with their energy costs. It required eligible users to sign up but people didn't know they needed to apply. So they automated the process to make it proactive. Because they had the necessary technical plumbing. In 2010. From: bm.wel.by/ym

The initial prompt for creating the Social Energy Tariff was a knowledge about a section of society that needed help.

Then they paired the policy implementation with monitoring of numbers: those numbers showed there was a problem.

We spoke about how interoperability provided the means for automating the process but the role of data doesn’t end there.

Because now it was possible to monitor the impact. That showed an almost fivefold increase in the number of households benefitting in just three months. Ultimately, this intervention provided financial support to 7% of the Portuguese population without requiring them to validate their eligibility.

Taken from "Building a data-driven public sector Part 1: The potential of data for delivering public value" - https://bm.wel.by/ym

Benjamin Welby@bm· Jul 29

Incredible to me that a bank could wind up with using the wrong email address and just merrily corresponding with that wrong person. But here I am getting mail for a significantly overdrawn American. And of course no route to contact Citi because I'm not an account holder.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Jul 20

Did set the task to various AIs. The much hyped Kimi amusingly not very good but none of the others did what I really needed. Presumably all of them hamstrung by the underlying data being locked away. The answer was that we should have had this idea yesterday and got up earlier to go to MK for 0940

A screenshot showing the results returned by Kimi AI for cinemas en route between Northampton and Croydon. The list details options on Ashburn, Virginia; Washington, DC; Orlando, Florida; Orange County, Florida; North Naples, Florida; Jacksonville, Florida; Dania Beach, Florida; Kendale Lakes, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; and Honolulu, Hawaii.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Jul 16

Please could we actually break up for the summer holidays first Morrisons?

A “Back to School” uniform display in a Morrisons supermarket, featuring children's school clothing and stationery. The top signage has cheerful images of children in school uniforms and large text reading “Back to School” and “Uniforms.” Beneath it, school clothing such as grey skirts, trousers, white polo shirts, and black cardigans are neatly hung with yellow “Save 25%” signs. To the right, a section offers half-price school stationery including pens, glue sticks, and lunch boxes.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Jul 16

The email that many people will just have had from the Dartford Crossing is not a great example of using email to communicate. Also that collections page on GOV.UK leaves a lot to be desired.

A screenshot of an email from Dartford Crossing Customer Service, timestamped 13:16. The message informs the recipient that from 1 September 2025, the UK Government will change charges for all vehicles using the Dartford Crossing. As a result, Dart Charge terms and conditions will also be updated on the same date.

Key points:

If using Pay As You Go (PAYG), no changes are needed.

Users can continue managing and paying as usual.

A link is provided to the updated terms and conditions.

Key changes listed:

Crossing charges, account discount rates, and local resident charges are changing.

The Local Resident Discount Scheme (LRDS) 10/20 plans are renamed "Limited" and "Unlimited."

Minimum low balance threshold has increased.

Minimum top-up amount has increased.

Further links are given for more details and assistance, including:

https://gov.uk/government/collections/dart-charge
https://nationalhighways.co.uk/help-centre/dart-charge-price-change
https://gov.uk/dart-charge

A helpline phone number: 0300 300 0120, with a textphone number also listed.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Jun 27

Public safety emergency sounds ominous...

A text message from UK Power Networks, timestamped at 15:29, informs residents of an emergency power cut. The message states that due to a newly identified safety issue with the electricity supply in the local area, power to 662 properties has been turned off as a precaution. It apologises for the lack of advance notice, explaining that the situation was unexpected. The message notes that the alert was sent to a wide area and reassures recipients that if they still have power, they are not expected to be affected. The background of the message is light green.

Benjamin Welby@bm· Jun 5

@jamesomalley.co.uk the coda to that comment I just left is the amazing tea I'm having from around the corner is from my closest chippy. But I'm not having fish and chips, I'm having delicious Mantu and Kabuli Palao because it's also an Afghan takeaway. This is a Britain I want to live in.