Research In Motion has said on Thursday that that CESG, the National Technical Authority for Information Assurance in the UK, has approved the BlackBerry 7 operating system for government use.

BlackBerry smartphones are widely deployed in UK public sector organisations including the Ministry of Defence (MoD), most of Central Government and more than half of the UK’s police forces, NHS and local government organizations.

BlackBerry smartphones currently available in the UK and covered by the new approval from CESG include the BlackBerry Bold 9900, BlackBerry Bold 9790, BlackBerry Torch 9810, BlackBerry Torch 9860, BlackBerry Curve 9360 and BlackBerry Curve 9380.

The approval enables public sector workers to utilise the enhanced performance and rich functionality of the latest BlackBerry smartphones available in the UK.

The BlackBerry Enterprise Solution from RIM is the only mobile solution approved by CESG to protect material classified up to and including ‘Restricted’.

“BlackBerry smartphones are enabling greater efficiencies and improved citizen service by providing access to data such as patient records, the Police National Computer and other government systems at the point of need”, said Stephen Bates, UK Managing Director, RIM.

Using the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution has led to striking savings and improved citizen service across many public sector bodies, including UK police forces who are using BlackBerry smartphones to increase productivity amongst officers and to enable them to spend more time on the streets and less time in the station.