HMRC ‘Marginally Ahead of Plan’ on Channel-Shift Objective
HM Revenue & Customs says it is marginally ahead of its five‑year plan to shift 90% of citizen interactions online by 2030. Digital engagements have climbed from roughly 70% to just under 80% after a £500 million boost from the 2025 spending review. The next phase hinges on a £600 million contact‑centre‑as‑a‑service deal with Capgemini and a pending £1.2 billion enterprise CRM contract. Call‑centre wait times have already dropped from 18:38 to 13:30 minutes, underscoring early gains.
GDS Leader Picks AI Agents as Area with ‘Biggest Work to Do – but Most Potential’
The Government Digital Service (GDS) announced that artificial‑intelligence agents represent the biggest work‑to‑do and the greatest upside for future public‑service delivery. While GDS has successfully digitised the front‑end of GOV.UK, it acknowledges that current user journeys remain siloed with many...
HMRC Preps New Digital Service for Large Company Accounting Officers
HM Revenue & Customs will roll out a new digital platform later this year for senior accounting officers (SAOs) at large UK companies—those with revenue over £200 million (≈$255 million) or assets above £2 billion (≈$2.5 billion). The service replaces the current paper‑and‑email process...
NHS Preps Version 2.0 of £2bn Digital Health Framework
The NHS London Procurement Partnership (NHS LPP) announced plans for CDHS 2.0, a second‑generation Clinical Digital Health Solutions framework worth about £2.4bn (≈$3bn) and slated to run for eight years. The original CDHS, launched in October 2024, is a £2bn (≈$2.5bn) 48‑month buying...
FCDO Previews £30m Deal for Digital ‘Strategic Delivery Partner’
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is preparing a £30 million‑plus (about $38 million) strategic delivery partner contract to run for an initial two years starting in early October. The deal, valued at £32.4 million (£≈$41 million) including VAT, will support digital...
Digital Suppression of Women’s Health Info Is Affecting Real-World Outcomes – and Government Needs to Act
Big tech platforms are increasingly shadow‑banning legitimate women’s health content, often flagging anatomical terms as adult material. A study commissioned by Essity shows 74% of 18‑34‑year‑olds turn to social media for health advice, yet women’s health posts suffer up to...
Horizon: Post Office Picks Accenture and OneView Commerce for £500m Contracts to Replace Fujitsu
The UK Post Office announced a £500 million (≈$635 million) procurement to replace its troubled Horizon system. Accenture secured a five‑year, £322.8 million (≈$410 million) contract to take over existing Horizon services and migrate them to the cloud, while OneView Commerce won a 10‑year...
Experts Call for Greater Challenge to AI Productivity and Savings Claims
The Ada Lovelace Institute released a briefing warning that UK public‑sector AI productivity and savings claims are insufficiently evidenced. It argues that many studies focus narrowly on time or cost reductions, overlooking service quality, equity, and long‑term costs. The report...
NHS Launches £900m AI Framework
The NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) has issued a call for suppliers to join a new £900 million (≈ $1.15 billion) artificial‑intelligence framework that will run from May 2027 to May 2035. The eight‑year, eight‑lot open framework covers radiology and diagnostic imaging, early detection,...
Specialist Top Secret Tech Unit Names New Chief
The HM Government Communications Centre (HMGCC), the UK’s secretive hub for national‑security engineering since 1938, has announced Dr Simon Fabri as its new chief executive. Fabri, who joined the agency in 2023 after senior roles at Amazon and in telecom, energy...
ONS Nabs Banking Exec as New Digital Chief
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has appointed Luke Ashton, former group chief data officer at Barclays, as its new Director General for Digital, Data and Technology. Ashton joins after leading data governance and process automation at the bank, bringing...
Digital ID Will Help Address ‘Unnecessary Data Security Risks’ and ‘Persistent Exclusion’, Minister Says
The UK government is set to launch a state‑issued digital identity, backed by the Digital Access to Services Bill, after minister James Frith highlighted its role in reducing data‑security risks and tackling persistent exclusion. The ID will serve as a...
Warwickshire Seeks Partner for £2.4m AI Drive
Warwickshire County Council has launched a two‑year procurement for an AI and automation programme valued at up to £2.4 million (about $3.1 million). The initial scope covers transcription, automated document generation, language translation and AI‑enabled chatbots delivered via a controlled intranet hub....
We Need to Get Better at Asking Questions About Government AI Systems
Lord Clement‑Jones recently queried the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology about the Claude LLM powering the new gov.uk chat service, but received only vague answers. As LLM‑based tools proliferate across UK public services—from fraud risk reviews to planning applications—questions...
DfE Plans Automated Feasibility-Testing Tool for £15.4bn School-Building Agenda
The UK Department for Education (DfE) is set to spend roughly $2.4 million on an 18‑month contract to build a Digital Configurator, a rule‑based platform that will automate early‑stage feasibility design for its $19.5 billion school‑building programme. The tool will generate block...