In an era where the digitisation of public services is no longer a luxury but a necessity, progress depends on effectively leveraging data insights. Digitisation holds greater significance now as the Spring Budget highlights the government’s plans to improve public services by driving productivity.

However, the recent revelation from the National Audit Office (NAO) paints a stark picture: the UK’s public sector stands at the crossroads of innovation, facing a formidable obstacle—limited access to high-quality data due to a dependency on manual processes.

Achieving productivity gains with AI starts with modernising how the UK public sector harnesses data to better serve its constituents.

The risk of legacy IT  

The introduction of AI is merely an ambition unless legacy IT systems are modernised. Current systems are ill-equipped for the demands of AI, with limitations in computing power and an inability to support efficient digital workflows.

These legacy systems often use antiquated data formats, hindering the extraction of insights. Moreover, the reliance on manual data collection and management further degrades data quality.

Despite strides toward digitisation, the UK public sector IT infrastructure remains fragmented and inefficient. Many organisations, including the National Health Service (NHS), depend heavily on manual, paper-based documentation, which obscures data visibility and impedes progress.

The NHS reported only 20% of its organisations are digitally mature. Moreover, a 2023 report revealed that the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs relies on paper-based forms for two-thirds of its interactions with its 21 million customers, underscoring the urgent need for IT infrastructure reform.

Re-engineering the public sector for productivity  

The urgency to modernise IT systems becomes even more pronounced when considering the transformative potential of AI. As a catalyst for innovation, AI can streamline processes, enhance decision-making, and unlock new capabilities within the public sector.

However, the full realisation of these benefits is predicated on the existence of a robust digital foundation. Without this, even the most advanced AI technologies remain underutilised, unable to deliver on their promise to revolutionise public services.

Across the public sector, AI is already being deployed to address a variety of challenges, demonstrating the imperative to modernise now. The effectiveness of AI in advancing digitisation and delivering tangible value in public service is directly linked to the quality of data and the modernisation of IT systems.

The government’s Single Network Analytics Platform (SNAP) is a prime example. SNAP, an AI-powered fraud detection tool, leverages data from across the public sector to identify and prevent fraudulent activity.

With an additional investment of £34 million, SNAP is expected to save the government £100 million over the next three years by enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of fraud detection processes.

This underscores the potential of AI to do more with less, addressing the substantial need for higher quality public services even as the UK government faces pressures to cut public spending.

The success of such AI tools is contingent upon the access to high-quality data and modern IT systems, which are essential for their effective functioning.

You are only as good as your data   

To fully realise AI’s potential, public sector organisations must prioritise cloud migration. The Central Digital & Data Office (CDDO) has set a precedent with its ‘One Government Cloud Strategy’, which is guiding the public sector towards a more integrated and efficient cloud infrastructure.

This strategy is crucial for modernising IT systems and ensures proper storage and management of data, facilitating the training and testing of AI solutions with high-quality datasets.

The CDDO’s cloud guide encourages government organisations to adopt a cross-functional approach to their cloud strategies, integrating considerations from across government and the wider public sector.

This holistic approach is vital for the digitisation of data collection processes, empowering AI-driven insights. By moving away from manual or paper-based methods, which can result in inaccurate or outdated data, to digital processes that are tailored to meet evolving requirements and business needs, the public sector can ensure the adaptability essential for AI systems to evolve and enhance their performance over time.

Additionally, digital and automated processes enable the scaling of data collection across public organisations, unlocking valuable insights that can lead to improved public services.

Recommended reading

• AI Skills Gap Puts Public Sector Projects in Jeopardy
• Registering of Public Sector AI Use Being Made Mandatory
• UK Gov Partners with AI Firm to Tackle Public Sector Fraud

Bridging the productivity gap  

IT infrastructure modernisation can be a prolonged process. Public sector organisations must find tools and technologies to bridge the productivity gap in the meantime, such as automation.

For example, automating the research grant process and migrating project management to the cloud enabled AgriFutures Australia to cut down contract processing time from four weeks to as little as 30 minutes. An automation approach also increased access to large volumes of data which is essential for future AI implementation.

Government plans to uplevel public services through digitisation are noble. However, antiquated, cumbersome systems won’t cut it for levelling up productivity. Effective digital and data infrastructures are essential to harness the transformative advantages of AI for which access to quality data isn’t just desirable—it’s indispensable.

By taking these steps, public sector organisations can enhance both productivity and customer satisfaction, ultimately delivering more with less. With modern cloud-based automation technologies organisations can get started with their modernisation journey quickly and focus on delivering real world results in a short period of time.