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 Economics 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 Tech 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, [...]
What the FCA scam surge tells us about fraud in 2025 August 29, 2025 When fraudulent actors start posing as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) itself, you know the scam problem has entered a new phase. The UK’s chief financial regulator confirmed this week that it has already received nearly 5,000 reports of impersonation scams in the first half of 2025, with almost 500 victims tricked into handing over [...]
Thousands face fines after HMRC misses CGT update August 29, 2025 Tax experts have warned that “tens of thousands” of people could fall foul of penalties this year after tech issues left HMRC’s online filing system unable to properly reflect the recent changes to capital gains tax as implemented in Rachel Reeves’ first budget last year. The chancellor’s Autumn Budget increased CGT rates on disposals of [...]