New UK digital services plan aims to ‘transform the relationship between citizen and state’
The UK government has set out a wide-ranging digital transformation plan, pledging a “giant leap forward” in the services the state provides.
Science secretary Peter Kyle said that the government was focused on “overhauling how the public sector uses technology” in order to “slash the time people waste dealing with annoying processes so they can focus on what matters to them”.
He set out what the government called a blueprint for modern digital government at the Government Digital Service headquarters in Whitechapel, London. This includes a six-point transformation plan of areas where government could make better use of technology:
- Join up public sector services
- Harness the power of AI for the public good
- Strengthen and extend digital and data public infrastructure
- Elevate leadership, invest in talent
- Fund for outcomes, procure for growth and innovation
- Commit to transparency, drive accountability
“The state has just simply been behind for too long, and today that changes,” Kyle said, comparing government technology to the way that people engage with apps from private companies. “We are going to close that gap. People can finally have high expectations of government, and even though we won’t always meet it, they will know we are striving to meet those high expectations.”
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The event formally established the Government Digital Service as the new ‘digital centre of government’ within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and unveiled a series of upcoming products designed to enhance public interaction with government and improve efficiency for civil servants.
Chief among these was the announcement of a new GOV.UK wallet, which would hold all an individual’s government documents and entitlements.
The wallet will be stored on users’ phones, as part of a new GOV.UK app. The wallet will initially store a Veteran Card for those eligible and a digital driver’s licence later this year, and will expand to include every other government-issued credential by the end of 2027. Usage will be optional and traditional physical documents will remain available.
The GOV.UK app will launch this summer. According to Kyle, it will remember users’ activity to offer a more convenient and personalised experience of interacting with government. Future additions are set to include an AI-powered chatbot – GOV.UK Chat, and ways to make payments and receive timely notifications about relevant services. This chatbot is already undergoing beta testing, and a more wide-ranging testing programme is expected.
Kyle said that the app and wallet show that the government is “using technology to drive radical, far-reaching reform of our public sector and of public services themselves”.
“You can now see the apps that we’ll be releasing to empower citizens to take control of their lives when they interact with their government, and this is just the start.”
Tech tools for civil servants
At the event, Kyle also set out details of AI tools that have been developed by the digital centre of government to help improve efficiency.
These include Consult, a tool that uses AI to analyse consultation responses. According to Kyle, the system works 1,000 times faster and is 400 times cheaper than a human being.
The tool can also present policymakers and experts with interactive dashboards to explore consultation responses.
Other tools demonstrated at the GDS headquarters included:
- Parlex: a tool to help policymakers search through and analyse decades of debate from the Houses of Parliament, so they can shape their thinking and better manage bills through the Commons and the Lords
- Minute: a secure AI transcription service for meetings, producing customisable summaries in the formats that public servants need. It is currently being used by multiple central departments in meetings with ministers and is in trials with local councils
- Redbox: a generative AI tool designed specifically to help civil servants with day-to-day tasks, like summarising policy and preparing briefings
- Lex: a tool which helps officials research the law by providing analysis and summarisation of relevant laws for specific, complex issues
The package of tools for use by civil servants is named Humphrey after the fictional Whitehall official made famous in the BBC drama Yes, Minister. DSIT said some of these tools are ready for use today, with the full suite to be made available to all civil servants soon.
The blueprint for a modern digital government also sets out progress milestones, including rules making it mandatory in due course for every public sector organisation to publish their application programming interfaces (APIs), which make it easier to exchange data in a secure and controlled way.
Read more: Succeeding with government digital services: Lessons from the UK, the US and Iceland
Learning from previous transformation plans
The blueprint sets out the progress that has been made under the previous government’s transformation roadmap, which has led to “a step change in collaboration”.
However, it also acknowledges that “we have not been able to make enough sustained progress on some of the broader systemic change that is needed”.
This time will be different, according to the blueprint, because government has “learnt from what has worked and what hasn’t; and we have an opportunity to build on the collective commitment of ministers across government to this reform”.
Kyle said that there was a clear shared vision, and that “the country needs to be engaged and exhilarated by the thought government can do big things like this, and do it swiftly”. He added that government also “needs to see that itself… to know that we can do big things”, and he told a media briefing that changes are being made to ensure delivery in Whitehall.
The new digital centre of government has now been formally established, with the Government Digital Service expanded within the DSIT to include the Central Digital and Data Office, Incubator for AI and the Geospatial Commission.
The government has also created a new governance arrangement for digital services, with an inter-ministerial group of Kyle, Cabinet Office minister and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden, and chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones.
“So everything you see here has gone through the inter ministerial group,” Kyle said. “It is a really exciting group to be on because there was so much enthusiasm for the direction of travel.”
Global Government Forum will be taking an in-depth look at various aspects of the blueprint for a modern government this week and sharing further insight from the launch event.
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