In a bid to reduce bureaucracy, increase efficiency, and improve technological capabilities, Cabinet Office Minister Jeremy Quin has revealed that artificial intelligence (AI) and data experts from the private sector are to be ushered into Whitehall as part of a set of new plans.

Most notably, a series of secondment programmes are set to be launched from autumn onwards, with a “Digital and Data” secondment scheme being the first to be initiated.

With the secondment programmes, tech experts from FTSE100 companies will be targeted by government to help bring external knowledge in-house, and also give civil servants the opportunity to work with professionals at industry-leading businesses.

However, the need to bring in external, temporary tech experts into Whitehall and help level-up technological skills points to an underlying skills gap, something that the UK’s tech private sector knows about all too well.

Quin himself mentioned a skills deficit in the Civil Service, referencing his plans for a streamlined recruitment process, which includes a digital platform for moving civil servants between departments more easily.

In addition to the secondment programmes, another initiative that’s been revealed to be in the pipeline is a “data marketplace,” the goal of which is to help break down barriers when it comes to data sharing inside government.

This builds on the UK Government’s data-focused efforts, some of which Laura Gilbert, the Chief Analyst and Director of Data Science at 10 Downing Street, mentioned at the DIGIT Leader 2023 summit earlier this year.

The marketplace is expected to become accessible to third-parties outside government, such as businesses and researchers, by 2025.

Further, amid the rapid advancement and adoption of artificial intelligence — and as the public sector and private sector alike try to benefit from its advantages, not least when it comes to productivity — Quin also mentioned his ambition for government to utilise it confidently and responsibly.

For instance, following a successful trial, the unit that’s responsible for exploring automation and innovation in government, known as i.AI, is set to become a fixed Civil Service team.

Recommended

• FanDuel Forms Partnership with STEM Returners
• 40% of Scots Fintechs Uncertain About Surviving to 2024
• New Meta AI Model is Free and Open Source

In his speech, Minister Jeremy Quin said: “There are brilliant people in our Civil Service but I know there are many, as can be the case in any organisation, that feel frustrated and stiffed by bureaucracy.

“Alongside the Cabinet Secretary, I shared with Civil Service colleagues at Civil Service Live in Cardiff last week that we need every colleague to be calling out waste and inefficiency, determined to end the frustrations I know many share.

“They can do so by more specialisation, more access to outside voices and fresh ideas, staying longer in post, delivering certainty on what we are seeking to achieve and benefitting from crisp evaluation on whether we have, while embracing the digital future which will transform all our working lives.”