Public sector jobs and pay increase while private sector struggles Economics Public sector employment jumped in September while the number of workers in the private sector fell, official statistics have shown. Employment in the public sector increased by 7,000 in the three months to September 2025 as total employment reached 6.2m. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said employment in central government hit a record high [...]
Labour hopes AI will save UK economy from jobs crisis Tech The government has announced a sweeping package of AI investment intended to create thousands of new jobs across the UK, at a time when businesses warn that rising employment costs and rapid advances in AI are already driving workforce reductions. Ministers have confirmed billions of pounds of private and public AI investment, including a new [...]
MPs urge Whitehall to prioritise AI training as digital gap widens Politics The government must urgently upskill civil servants to make effective use of AI, MPs have warned. In a new report published on Wednesday, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said that gaps in digital advancements among government departments are leading to service backlogs, inefficiencies, and poorer outcomes for citizens. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, PAC chair, argued: [...]
Public sector pay outpaces private amid Budget pressures October 14, 2025 Public sector pay has outstripped private sector pay on an annual basis, according to new official data, with the added pressures on public finances set to force Chancellor Rachel Reeves to hike taxes at the Budget. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said annual average regular earnings growth was 4.4 per cent for the private [...]
Treasury invests £63m in cloud services amid public sector overhaul October 1, 2025 HM Treasury has spent more than £63.6m on cloud services over the past three years, showing a decisive shift toward fully cloud-based IT infrastructure. The department has eliminated on-premise systems entirely, reflecting a broader digital transformation agenda across public spending and tax policy. According to the State of Digital Government Review, around 60 per cent [...]
Will the ‘Brit card’ ID redefine privacy in the UK? September 29, 2025 Just last week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans for a new digital ID system, or so-called ‘Brit card’, aimed to provide UK citizens and legal residents with a smartphone-based identity card. By the end of the current parliament in 2029, digital ID is set to become mandatory for ‘right to work’ checks. The government [...]
Code of conduct for IT professionals would help gain public trust in AI September 25, 2025 Billions of investment in AI will do little while the public remains suspicious of the tech. A public register for IT professionals could help address this, writes Emma McGuigan.
AI home care saves NHS and government over £1bn September 16, 2025 Cera, the UK’s largest HealthTech home care provider, has announced that its AI-backed social care model has saved the NHS and government over £1bn to date, according to a new analysis. The preventative care model leverages AI to reduce avoidable hospital admissions, cut emergency attendances and ambulance call-outs, and prevent costly referrals into residential care. [...]
£1bn AI home care savings spotlight urgent need for public sector tech reform September 16, 2025 The NHS and government have saved more than £1bn to date thanks to an AI-driven approach to home care. HealthTech innovator Cera, which employs 10,000 carers and nurses delivering 2.5 million home visits per month, has developed predictive AI tools aimed at reducing avoidable hospital admissions, A&E attendances, and costly residential care referrals. Dr Ben [...]
Government urged to rethink digital procurement as ambitions stall September 10, 2025 The government’s ongoing ambitions for digital transformation risk grinding to a halt unless it overhauls the way it funds and invests in technology, according to a new report from techUK. The body’s recent ‘Financing the Future’ study posited that Whitehall’s procurement system remains too rigid and too focused on short-term products rather than long-term digital outcomes. Instead, [...]