Paul Neville, director of digital, data and technology at The Pensions Regulator (TPR), is building strong IT foundations as part of a five-year strategy to help transform the organisation from a compliance-based to a risk-based regulator. He explains what that change will mean in practice over the next few years.
“As a regulator, we’ll obviously still have specific processes we expect people to follow, but we’ll be much more concerned about the outcome that we’re trying to achieve, and we’ll make decisions based on that demand,” he says.
“To make that shift, we need to understand our data. We need to have the right level of automation to explore information, measure outcomes, and deliver those outcomes with industry and other government bodies interested in pensions. We imagine a future world in which information flows between organisations.”
A historian by education, Neville entered the world of business as the internet boom gathered pace in the 1990s. Describing himself as a self-taught digital leader, he developed his skills in the commercial sector at blue-chip companies such as Sky and BT, and with startups and smaller businesses.
His transformation work in larger firms focused on delivering big technology-enabled change programmes, centred on boosting customer experiences. Mid-career, he decided to apply those skills for public benefit and worked as a consultant for two major charities, Marie Curie and Macmillan, helping those organisations to transform digitally.
Neville then turned to the public sector to apply his skills in another for-good area. He worked in digital leadership roles at the London Borough of Waltham Forest, UK Export Finance and Enfield Council, before joining TPR in October 2023. Neville reflects on this final move.
“It was the opportunity to take all of that experience and deliver on a national scale and impact everybody, because almost everyone has a pension, and the opportunity to make that process work for the citizens of this country, and make a difference for people in retirement, is a massive issue,” he says.
“Secondly, the chief executive, my boss, Nausicaa Delfas, was setting up an opportunity to change, not only TPR, but the pensions industry, so the role felt like a chance to be a central part of that journey, because not every CIO gets to sit on the board of an organisation.”
Transforming processes
Neville reflects on the transformation journey at TPR, saying it’s been an exciting ride: “Everyone on the executive board is aligned on the fact that digital, data and technology are the key enablers for helping us change as an organisation, and also helping the pensions industry transform.”
Late last year, Neville launched a digital, data and technology strategy, a set of missions over a five-year plan to renew TPR’s capabilities, embracing new ways of working, driving efficiency, automation and innovation. In March this year, he launched the data component of the strategy, which establishes a collaborative plan to drive adoption of new data technologies and standards.
“I am proud of that strategic work,” he says. “That effort includes strengthening our technology foundations, improving our capability in terms of automation, and making sure we have the skills in my team to develop the future. We’ve hired quite a lot of people and also consolidated similar skills across the organisation, and that’s enabled us to deliver more and save money on suppliers, because we’ve done a lot in-house.”
Neville says the projects his team has worked on include delivering artificial intelligence (AI) tools that help increase automation. They’ve also focused on improving cyber security and data governance to ensure safe and secure access to high-quality internal information.
The team also recently launched an innovation service to foster conversations with industry stakeholders. Neville says TPR is encouraging and enabling people and organisations to think differently about the services they deliver to their customers and the benefits they provide.
“That’s just a small selection of the things we’ve done so far,” he says. “We’ve got just under four years left of the plan. There’s a lot more we want to do, but we have built the confidence, both internally and externally, that we are a different TPR and we can deliver. That encourages everyone in our industry to think differently as well.”
Building foundations
Neville says the transformation work enabled through the strategy so far is focused on building the right technological foundations at TPR.
In addition to cyber security and data governance projects, his team has focused on service management initiatives that help TPR rationalise its application estate. The organisation has adopted an agile, product-based approach to deliver reusable capabilities for flexible services in key areas related to pensions governance within the organisation and externally.
TPR is also making progress on automation, including in case management. He inherited a situation where cases were often managed on spreadsheets or via one-off technology solutions. In short, nothing was joined up. Neville is using automation, via Microsoft Dynamics 365, to take a different approach.
“Everyone on the executive board is aligned on the fact that digital, data and technology are the key enablers for helping us change as an organisation, and also helping the pensions industry transform”
Paul Neville, The Pensions Regulator
“We’re delivering a single case management system,” he says. “We are working to make sure the process is streamlined, so we’re thinking about the business process first. By taking that approach, we can deliver in an agile and iterative way. Where we’ve already rolled that technology out, we’ve delivered productivity savings of around 60%.”
Neville expects the progress made through case management automation to be repeated in other areas. As automation takes hold in the organisation, he anticipates people will spend less time on paperwork and more time delivering better services.
Given the developments in the technology sector during the past few years, AI is playing a key role.
“We are deploying AI to specific use cases,” he says. “I’ve got a fantastic data science team, who are developing lots of very clever tools for us.”
Embracing AI
Neville says the next two years will be spent honing these technology initiatives and delivering tangible results.
Critical projects include implementing organisation-wide access to data via Dynamics 365 services and completing transformation projects in core areas, such as cyber security and data governance. It’s these foundations and the application of emerging technology that will help TPR transform from a compliance-based to a risk-based regulator.
Two years from now, Neville expects all foundational work, from case management to customer relationship management (CRM) systems, will be embedded within the organisation. On these foundations, employees will use AI-enabled tools to boost their working processes.
“That preparatory work will enable us in the future to create more customer-facing digital capabilities,” he says.
One example of where TPR is applying AI is analysing online news sites to scan for potential risks in pension schemes. Neville saw AI could provide a helping hand to what is currently a manually intensive process.
“That’s a great example, because many pension schemes don’t have the same name as the provider,” he says. “The technology does quite a lot of joining up behind the scenes to make that process work.”
Another example is using AI to analyse Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) statements, which organisations must submit to comply with legislation. Once again, generative technology – in the form of OpenAI and Microsoft Azure technology – is helping TPR staff summarise lengthy prose and create insights as a basis for intervention when required.
“Those are just two examples,” says Neville. “We’ve got other risk tools that we’re using. We are also rolling out Copilot internally, and we’re in the middle of our plan for that technology. We’re trialling GitHub Copilot for our developers, and they’re starting to write test scripts, which is fun. We’re still at the beginning of this work, as are lots of people, but these projects are a taster of what we want to achieve.”
Solving challenges
Neville says the result of this work will be that the future TPR will have an operating environment that differs greatly from its traditional, manually intensive processes. Today, the organisation maintains a digital portal, where people send, for example, pension scheme returns as part of a large, intensive data upload. Neville foresees a better approach.
We need to understand our data, and so does the industry. The firms need to provide better customer experiences for people, like you and me, who have pensions Paul Neville, The Pensions Regulator
“There won’t necessarily be a scheme return like you see today, because we will have the information we need, and organisations across the industry will be more digitally enabled, so they’re able to drive the kind of innovation and competition in the market that will benefit savers, people with pensions and employers that offer pensions,” he says.
This new level of digital interaction will make it easier for TPR and organisations in the pensions sector to tackle some of the thorny issues of the day. One of these issues is adequacy, or the extent to which people save enough money in pension schemes for their retirement.
“We need to understand our data, and so does the industry. The firms need to provide better customer experiences for people, like you and me, who have pensions. By driving a customer focus, we think the industry will perform better,” he says.
“We may even feel a bit like a fintech as an organisation, because we’ll be enabling innovation. Technology will produce the insights we need to work with the industry. So, we could be operating in a completely different world, which drives innovation and change for everyone.”
Neville continues to seek ways to push transformation forward. He recently helped launch the Pensions Data and Digital Working Group, which will help ensure TFP and the pension industry work together to embrace digital, data and technology and achieve the digitalisation and automation aims outlined in the five-year strategy.
“The working group has 15 members,” he says. “It represents a cross-section of people from different parts of industry, so trustees, actuaries, lawyers, but also people from more technical backgrounds as well. It’s about getting all kinds of people involved to help solve the problems and move to this new world.”
Almost 90% of women choose to leave their tech career within 10 years of starting it, according to research from Akamai.
The tech services provider found that more than half of women leave their tech roles within the first five years of their career, and almost 90% within 10, making the average career length for a woman in tech in the UK six years. But the research also found that women would be willing to return to their tech career under the right circumstances.
Natalie Billingham, EMEA managing director at Akamai, said: “These insights illustrate that the UK tech industry has a window of opportunity to impact the choices of women in tech – from the past and present, and in the future.
“By providing opportunities for progression, flexible work and appropriate remuneration, tech leaders on the precipice of technological innovation have the chance to create impactful change on the tech workforce, fostering longer-lasting tenures, diverse leadership and an environment where women can thrive.”
More than 50% said they left because they didn’t feel as though they belonged, 40% said it was because of a lack of gender diversity in leadership positions, and 10% said gender bias played a role in their exit from the technology sector.
Nearly three-quarters of women cited a lack of career progression as playing a part in their decision to leave the sector, while 19% stated it was their definitive reason for moving away from tech.
Flexible working has been an ongoing challenge for women in the technology sector, who often leave because they cannot balance working in an inflexible workplace when they often carry a disproportionate amount of the care burden at home.
More than half of women who have left the sector said they did so because of stringent working hours, with 15% outlining that there was no ability to work flexibly and more than 40% stated there was a lack of work-life balance. This could tie in with the 19% of women who said their main reason for leaving tech was due to burnout and a negative impact on their mental health.
Out of the large number of women who have left the technology sector, 15% are currently not working, while 13% moved into finance, 13% moved into teaching, and 12% chose to work in healthcare.
Just over 30% said they left the technology industry of their own volition and prefer their new employment situation, while many said they had no plans to return to tech.
But almost 40% claimed they would be willing to come back to their technology career under the right circumstances, of which pay, career progression and better flexibility were key factors. Just under 20% said better opportunities for career progression could entice them back to tech, while 48% said a higher salary would be the defining factor in their decision to return, and 38% would come back for better flexibility.
Out of those who have come back to the sector after having left, more than half did so because of an increase in pay, and 43% did so because of renewed opportunities for career progression.
Over 40% also claimed they returned to their tech career because they were given better work-life balance, and 37% of women who have left tech said they would consider returning to the industry if they were able to work flexibly, such as working part-time, job sharing or hybrid working. Those who have returned 90% said they’re likely to stay at least two more years if not more.
Hazel Little, CEO of Career Returners, said: “The findings provide a valuable picture of what mid‑career women are looking for to return to tech, and it’s encouraging to see that the majority could be persuaded to come back under the right conditions.
“Progression pathways are crucial for retaining talent, but equally important is ensuring that women who want to return have clear, supported ways to re-enter the sector in the first place. When employers build both return pathways and progression pathways, they create an environment where women can come back, grow and stay.”
The North East Automotive Alliance (NEAA), alongside the Port of Tyne, autonomous driving technology provider Oxa and a consortium of leading industry and academic partners, has delivered the Port‑Connected and Automated Logistics (P-CAL) project.
The Port of Tyne is one of the UK’s major deep-sea ports handling specialised bulk and containerised products, alongside delivery logistics, and assisting growing passenger numbers via its International Passenger Terminal.
Overall, the Port of Tyne adds £658m to the local economy, supporting 10,400 jobs directly and indirectly, and as one of the UK’s largest trust ports. Fully self-financing, it runs on a commercial basis, reinvesting all of its profits back into facilities along the River Tyne for the benefit of the North East and its stakeholders.
Delivered and funded through the UK government’s CAM [Connected and Automated Mobility] Pathfinder programme, NEAA – a collaborative, industry-led cluster dedicated to fostering a competitive and sustainable environment for businesses – is working with its partners to deliver P-CAL to demonstrate autonomous container transport at the Port of Tyne. The initiative will see the deployment of a fully autonomous terminal tractor and secure mesh communication network to move containers between the dockside and the container compound, creating a UK first in waterside port automation.
P-CAL was designed to push the boundaries of autonomous logistics by deploying and validating a fully autonomous terminal tractor in a live port environment. Building on the North East’s earlier 5G CAL and V‑CAL initiatives – which looked to assess the commercial viability of deploying autonomous yard tractors on the Vantec-Nissan route in Sunderland – the project worked to move autonomous technology from proof‑of‑concept trials into a complex, safety‑critical, real‑world operational setting.
Over the course of the project, the consortium is said to have successfully designed, integrated and tested an autonomous container transport service capable of operating on a busy quayside. The scope of work included the deployment of a fully autonomous terminal tractor; a resilient mesh communication network; the capability to integrate with terminal operating systems; real‑time coordination with live crane movements; and the implementation of a cyber security framework to enable safe, remote and automated operations.
The system was developed and tested in a newly defined and highly complex operational design domain. This is said to reflect the realities of a working port environment where traffic density, variable conditions and human interaction present unique challenges.
The regional and national partnership delivering the project combined expertise across autonomous systems, logistics, cyber security, academia, legal compliance and industrial operations. The consortium believes its project has generated valuable technical, operational and regulatory insight that will inform the future deployment of CAM services across ports, logistics hubs and industrial sites nationwide.
By augmenting the capability of the existing workforce, it says it has shown that autonomous systems can take on repetitive or more hazardous tasks, allowing skilled workers to focus on higher-value roles. This is seen as particularly vital for the North East, ensuring the region remains at the forefront of industrial evolution while creating a more resilient and tech-enabled labour market.
“Delivering autonomous logistics in a live port environment has been a major step forward for the sector,” said Graeme Hardie, operations director at the Port of Tyne. “P-CAL has shown what’s possible when innovation is applied to real operational challenges, improving safety, efficiency and sustainability. The Port of Tyne is proud to have played a leading role in a project that will influence how ports across the UK and beyond approach automation.”
Oxa founder and CEO Paul Newman added: “The success of P-CAL proves how autonomy will enable the future of resilient logistics operations. Through the project, we’ve demonstrated that existing work vehicles can be turned into a digital workforce – successfully completing autonomous container movements in a dynamic quayside environment, while providing worksite intelligence necessary for real-time industrial optimisation. P-CAL provides a blueprint for how ports and industrial hubs worldwide can deploy autonomous technology to drive productivity, efficiency and safety.”
CAM Pathfinder is funded by the UK government, delivered by the Department for Business and Trade in partnership with automated mobility firm Zenzic and Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency.
Zenzic programme director Mark Cracknell said: “P-CAL is a strong example of how government and industry can work together to accelerate the commercial readiness of CAM technologies. Projects like this are vital in turning innovation into deployment, creating high‑value jobs and ensuring the UK remains globally competitive in connected and automated mobility. As the project closes, the outcomes and learning from P-CAL will continue to shape future CAM initiatives, investment opportunities and policy development, both regionally and nationally.”
The next phase of the project will examine how the system performs across broader port operations, including the added pressures of multiple vehicles working alongside people, equipment and live commercial activity.
Both left and right-wing accounts claimed, without evidence, that the attack was staged.
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and dozens of other high-profile administration officials and journalists were attending the dinner at the Hilton hotel in Washington, DC, when a suspect, later identified by media reports as Cole Tomas Allen from California, allegedly ran past security towards the event. He was detained by law enforcement while the president and vice president were evacuated. Police said that they believe Cole acted alone, but did not expand on who his intended target was or what his motive may have been. “We believe the suspect was targeting administration officials,” acting attorney general Todd Blanche told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday morning.
On Bluesky, which has a predominantly left-leaning user base, many people simply wrote the word “STAGED” over and over again, echoing the response to the Trump assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania in 2024.
On X, many claimedthe shooting was staged as a way to bolster support for Trump’s plan to build a new ballroom in the White House. The president referenced the ballroom in a press conference after the incident and a Truth Social post on Sunday morning. Many prominent online Trump boosters echoed the need for the ballroom, including far-right podcaster Jack Posobiec, Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik, and Tom Fitton, the right-wing activist who runs Judicial Watch.
Their quick response, conspiracy theorists claimed, was evidence of a coordinated campaign following the shooting. “Is this another staged event,” one X user asked in a post that has been viewed more than 5 million times.
Other social media users who claimed the incident was staged pointed to a Fox News clip that featured the station’s White House correspondent Aishah Hasnie speaking from the Hilton hotel. Hasnie told viewers that prior to the shooting, press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s husband allegedly told her “you need to be very safe,” before the call was cut off.
“Fox News just cut one of their reporters off as they seemed to indicate the shooting was a pre-planned false flag,” one X user wrote in a post that has been viewed more than 2 million times. Hasnie later clarified in an X post that her cell service had cut out in a location with notoriously bad service, adding: “He was telling me to be careful with my own safety because the world is crazy. He was expressing his concern for my safety.”
“I don’t want to be fomenting conspiracies,” wrote Angelo Carusone, the chair and president of Media Matters, on Bluesky about the Fox News interview. “But I mean…this was super weird. Super weird.”
Leavitt herself was also the focus of conspiracy theories after she said “shots will be fired” in an interview ahead of the dinner, referring to the jokes Trump was scheduled to deliver. Following the attack, X users claimed the comment was “strange,” “sus,” or a “curious choice of words,” while sharing memes that suggested the shooting was staged. At least one mainstream outlet appeared to amplify the conspiracy theory as well, describing Leavitt’s comment as “eerie” and “bizarre.”
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