Home Office Seeks Trio of £100k-Plus Leaders to Support Police Tech Transformation
The Home Office is recruiting three deputy delivery directors to steer a major police technology transformation, each offering a six‑figure salary of £100,000‑£117,800 (approximately $127,000‑$150,000). The roles cover legacy services transformation—including the £900 million (≈$1.14 billion) Law Enforcement Data Service that will replace the aging Police National Computer—overseeing the Home Office Biometrics programme, and managing national police IT services. The biometrics position will support a user community of over 45,000 across more than 50 organisations and involves data sharing with Five Eyes partners. Applications close at 11.55 pm on 19 April.
NHS Preps Major Tech Programme to ‘Transform Patient, Public and Staff-Facing Services’
On 1 April, NHS England launched the TPPSFS programme, a £250 million (£320 million) initiative that subsumes the existing Digital Transformation of Screening project and aims to overhaul patient, public and staff‑facing services. The plan outlines eight priority areas, including a full...
DSIT and DESNZ IT Unit Signs £7.5m Laptop Deal
The Integrated Corporate Services (ICS) unit, serving the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), has signed a Dell contract worth up to £7.5 million (≈$9.6 million). The initial 12‑month phase,...
MPs Urge Creation of National Body to Combat Disinformation
The UK Foreign Affairs Committee has called on ministers to establish a statutory National Counter Disinformation Centre to counter foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI). The report notes that seven government departments – including the FCDO, MoD, Home Office and...
HMRC Lifts Lid on £1bn-Plus Programme to ‘Create a Generational Shift in Customer Service’ with Single Taxpayer View
HM Revenue & Customs has launched a £1bn‑plus (≈$1.3bn) Enterprise Customer Relationship Management (ECRM) programme that will run until March 2030. The initiative, overseen by senior responsible owner Mike Beddington, aims to give HMRC a single, unified view of every taxpayer’s...
Parliament Retires Covid-Era App for Members’ Participation
The UK Parliament is decommissioning the ParliamentNow mobile app, a pandemic‑era tool created in spring 2020 to let MPs and peers vote remotely. After six years, usage dwindled to an average of 160 monthly users, far below the 51,000 monthly...
NHS Extends £6bn Print and Document Framework to Safeguard Ongoing Transformation Programmes
The NHS has approved a six‑month extension of its Digital Document Solutions (DDS) framework, a £6 billion (≈ $7.6 billion) contract that now runs until 31 March 2027. The framework, operating since October 2021, engages 46 suppliers across nine lots covering internal and external print, scanning,...
DSIT Seeks Figurehead ‘to Lay the Digital Foundations for the Country’
The UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is hiring a new Director General for Digital Foundations, a senior civil‑service role paying £174,000 (about $221,000) per year. The post will lead government cybersecurity policy, the Government Cyber Unit, and...
Companies House ‘Developing a Case for Upgrade Investments’ After Five-Month Data-Security Breach
Companies House disclosed a five‑month data‑security flaw that let any user potentially edit another company’s details by pressing the back button four times. The defect, traced to an October software update, prompted a temporary shutdown of the WebFiling service and...
Met Police Plans £250m Framework for IT Reseller Duo
London’s Metropolitan Police Service is launching a £252 million (≈$320 million) value‑added reseller framework to procure hardware, software and related services for up to four years. The two‑supplier arrangement will initially run for 24 months, with the option to extend twice, potentially...
Schools Guidance Advises that AI ‘Must Foster Human Connection’
The Scottish Government, together with the Educational Institute of Scotland, has released non‑statutory guidance for schools on safe AI use. The document outlines seven sections, including core principles, data protection, and ethical considerations, and sets five key tenets such as...
Digital ID People’s Panel to Cost £630k and Vested Interests Cannot ‘Buy Their Way In’
The UK government is launching a "People’s Panel" of 100‑120 citizens to advise on its national digital identity programme, at an estimated cost of £630,000 (about $800,000). Participants will be chosen through a random postcode lottery – a sortition process...
EXCL: HMRC Signs £150k Deal for AI-Generated Comms and Training Videos
HM Revenue and Customs has signed a one‑year contract with London‑based Synthesia, valued at £146,160 (approximately $186,000), to pilot an AI‑generated video platform for internal communications and staff training. The deal, awarded through the G‑Cloud 14 framework, aims to test...
DWP Engages AI and Tech Suppliers to Help Shape Plans for 12 Areas of New Jobs and Careers Services
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has opened a market‑engagement programme to recruit AI and technology providers for its new Jobs and Careers Service (JCS). The JCS, which will combine the National Careers Service with the DWP’s 646 Jobcentres...
DBT-Led Group Explores Using Post Office as Single High-Street Shopfront for Government Services and Digital Support
UK government, via a Department for Business and Trade (DBT)‑led cross‑government group, is examining whether the Post Office’s 11,600 branches could serve as a common physical front‑end for a range of state services. The consultation response identified three opportunities: consolidating...
HMRC Greenlights Sole Bidder AWS for £500m Cloud Migration Deal
HM Revenue & Customs has awarded Amazon Web Services a near‑£473 million contract to migrate data and services from three legacy datacentres to the public cloud. The deal, valued at roughly $600 million inclusive of VAT, was confirmed after AWS emerged as...
‘We Are Being Imaginative to Make Defence Appeal to Young People with New Skill Sets’
UK Air Marshal Tim Jones, newly appointed deputy chief of the defence staff for force development, told Parliament that recruitment for the Armed Forces has been difficult but is beginning to improve. He highlighted persistent shortages in cyber, engineering and...
‘DVLA Is Pushing the Boundaries of AI’
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is rapidly embedding artificial‑intelligence tools into its customer‑service operations. A large‑language‑model now powers ChatGPT‑style searches across 2,500 knowledge articles, helping advisers answer queries faster. In partnership with the Government Digital Service, the DVLA...
MoD Offers £150k-Plus for Digital and AI Leadership Duo
The UK Ministry of Defence is recruiting two senior technology leaders—a Chief Digital Technology Officer (CDTO) and a Chief Artificial Intelligence and Data Officer—offering six‑figure salaries. The CDTO will earn roughly $203,000 and manage an annual delivery budget of about...
Falling Is Inevitable, but Learning Is a Design Choice
Government’s Budget Information Security Review exposed a mis‑configuration that leaked sensitive data, prompting tighter controls. Cyber expert Vsevolod Shabad argues the real issue is whether government systems are built to learn from failures, not just to contain them. He highlights...
GDS Reports Achieving 90% Accuracy in GOV.UK Chat Pilots
The Government Digital Service (GDS) announced that its AI‑driven GOV.UK Chat achieved 90% answer accuracy, up from an initial 76% benchmark. The figure comes from two public pilots involving more than 10,000 participants who asked roughly 26,000 questions about taxes,...
Police Scotland Hit with £66k Fine over Serious Data Breach
Police Scotland has been fined £66,000 by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office after extracting and disclosing the full contents of a crime complainant’s mobile phone. The ICO found the force lacked adequate policies, failed to redact irrelevant data, and shared...
HMRC Enters Public Beta Tests of One Login as Transition From Government Gateway Gradually Progresses
HM Revenue & Customs has launched a public beta that lets a controlled group of new users register for tax services via the GOV.UK One Login platform. The trial, which runs until June, does not yet include the 50 million existing...
Treasury Plans Guidance to Help Departments Record Digital Service Costs
HM Treasury, in partnership with the Government Finance Function, will publish new guidance this July to standardise how UK government departments record digital service costs. The framework introduces a minimum data set covering people, processes, technology and estates, and ties...
Government Probes Use of AI in Children’s Social Care
The Department for Education has opened a consultation to map how artificial intelligence and other digital tools are being used in children’s social care. It asks local authorities and frontline providers to detail current applications, measurable impacts, and the obstacles...
West Yorkshire Police Deploys Live AI Analysis of 999 Calls
West Yorkshire Police has launched a live AI system that records, transcribes and categorises more than 20,000 emergency calls each week. The Post‑Call Analysis tool, built on a model trained solely on police data, creates instant summaries and flags hidden...
Data Watchdog Accuses Scottish Government of ‘Unjustified Delays and a Wall of Silence’
Scotland’s information commissioner David Hamilton announced he can no longer trust the Scottish Government to manage sensitive information without supervision after the administration repeatedly missed deadlines and refused to release legal advice linked to a 2024 freedom‑of‑information order. The dispute...
Imminent Access to Work Legacy Upgrade Will Help ‘Avoid Problems’, Says DWP Chief
The Department for Work and Pensions will replace the 30‑year‑old case‑management platform that underpins Access to Work with a modern, integrated system in June. The upgrade is designed to connect three existing modules, eliminate re‑keying, and improve data collection, aiming...
New Central Digital Procurement Hub Has Delivered 11% Savings on Devices
The UK government launched the Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence (DCCOE) last year to centralise technology and digital services procurement across departments. Staffed by about 24 officials, the hub has already delivered roughly an 11% cost reduction on a large‑scale...
MHCLG Signs Potential £75m Deal for ‘Development of Digital Elections Services’
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has signed a two‑year, £75 million contract with Atos, supported by Softwire, to develop digital election services. The deal aims to modernise GOV.UK platforms ahead of the manifesto pledge to lower the voting...
Government Should Lead by Example on Professional Standards for IT and Digital
During Chartered Week, over 40 professional bodies representing 1.5 million workers urged the UK government to embed professional standards in digital and IT roles. They argue that as technology underpins NHS modernization, AI productivity, and national security, a chartered framework would...
CCS Adds Three More Months to £7.7bn Technology Services 3
The Crown Commercial Service has granted a final three‑month extension to four lots of its Technology Services 3 (TS3) framework, moving the end date to 14 June 2025, and has increased the framework’s estimated value from £4 billion to £6.4 billion (£7.7 billion VAT‑inclusive). TS3,...
Student Loans Company Names Experienced Finance Sector Exec Kath Moore as New Digital Chief
Student Loans Company (SLC) has appointed Kath Moore, a veteran finance‑sector technologist, as its executive director and chief digital and data officer. Moore arrives from Alba, a Scottish SME‑focused start‑up bank, after senior stints at HSBC, Barclays, Prudential and Halifax....
Scottish Policing: Amnesty International Says Facial Recognition ‘Should Have No Place’
Amnesty International has warned that facial recognition technology should have no place in Scotland, citing an alarming disregard for fundamental human rights. Police Scotland is currently consulting on the possible adoption of both live and retrospective facial recognition, while the...
Sellafield Ltd Floats Streamlined £90m IT and Hosting Plan
Sellafield Ltd, the government‑owned operator of the UK’s nuclear waste‑processing site, has revised its IT procurement strategy, moving from a two‑lot approach to a single, consolidated contract for hosted infrastructure and application management. The new seven‑year deal is valued at...
Does Transformation Need a Transformation?
PublicTechnology editor Sam Trendall argues that the term “transformation” has become a hollow buzzword in the UK public sector, diluting its impact. Repeated grandiose language around digital change is causing staff disengagement and masking the reality of delayed, under‑funded programmes....
Government to Review Guidance on WhatsApp Usage
The UK Cabinet Office’s non‑corporate communication guidance (NCCC), refreshed in April 2023 after a decade, was slated for a review by 31 December 2025 but has not yet been examined. Constitution minister Nick Thomas‑Symonds confirmed a forthcoming review of both the guidance and...
Kent County Council Procurement Arm Opens Bids for £900m Print Deal
Kent County Council’s procurement arm has launched a £900 million, four‑year framework to supply print hardware and digital tools, effective 1 June 2026 and running to 2030. The programme is split into three lots – a £420 million multifunction device and digital‑solution lot,...
DSIT to Unleash Legacy IT Action Plan Backed by Data Collection on ‘Thousands’ of Ageing Systems
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) will launch a comprehensive data‑collection drive in 2026 to identify the "thousands" of legacy IT systems across UK government departments. A recent letter from the chief data officer and chief security officer...
HMRC Agrees £200k Extension for Desk-Monitoring Tool as It Works on Long-Term ‘Strategic Solution’
HM Revenue and Customs has approved a six‑figure, £218,000 extension to its OccupEye desk‑occupancy sensor contract with FM:Systems, covering three offices for an additional year with a possible second year. The extension buys time while HMRC develops a long‑term, cloud‑based...
Palantir’s £250m Government Deal ‘Represents a Vote of Confidence in the UK’, Minister Says
Palantir secured a £240 million contract extension with the UK Ministry of Defence, citing an “absence of competition” for technical reasons. The firm also eyes a potential £500 million NHS Federated Data Platform deal, expanding its footprint in health and defence. Security...
Treasury Taps Tech Firms to Advise on Public Sector AI Adoption
HM Treasury has set up an advisory panel that includes IBM, Faculty AI and the Tony Blair Institute to accelerate artificial intelligence adoption across government departments. The group will evaluate existing AI pilots, recommend scaling strategies, and feed insights into...
Defra Nears Exit of Legacy Datacentres but Retains Capgemini for £40m Digital ‘Capability as a Service’ Deal
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is close to completing a multi‑million‑pound programme to shut down its legacy datacentres, moving services to cloud platforms such as AWS. While a £9 million, 19‑month contract with Capgemini finalises the remaining...
DSIT to Create ‘Action Plan’ to Boost Procurement Spend with UK SMEs
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) will soon publish an action plan that sets a stretching target for procurement spending with UK‑based small and medium‑size enterprises (SMEs). Minister Baroness Liz Lloyd announced the strategy in response to a...
Digital ID Minister Replaced with Former Musician and Comms Advisor James Frith
James Frith, Labour MP for Bury North and former musician, has been appointed as the new minister overseeing the UK government's digital identity programme, replacing Josh Simons who resigned after an ethics probe. Simons' departure came amid concerns that his...
MoJ Signs £5m ‘Innovation Bench’ Deal to Support Digital Ambitions
The Ministry of Justice has signed a £5 million two‑year "innovation bench" contract with UBDS Digital to provide on‑demand agile teams for early‑stage digital projects. The agreement, extendable by six months to August 2028, supplements the department’s 1,700 internal digital staff and...
Extension of Data-Sharing to NI ‘a Significant Step Towards a More Responsive, Integrated Public Service System’
The UK government has activated new commencement regulations that extend the Digital Economy Act 2017 data‑sharing powers to public bodies in Northern Ireland as of 11 February. The measures allow authorities to exchange information to improve services, reduce public debt...
DSIT Seeks £174k AI and Emerging Tech Leader
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is hiring a Director General to lead emerging technology and artificial intelligence, offering a salary of up to £174,000. The role will shape the UK’s strategy, investment and regulation across AI, quantum...
DSIT Signs £4.5m Deal to Access ‘Niche or Emergent’ AI Suppliers
The UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has signed a one‑year, £4.5 million contract with Capgemini to act as its AI services delivery partner. The deal will give the AI Security Institute and other DSIT teams access to research,...
HMRC Making Tax Digital: Government to Monitor Impact on Childminders as Ministers Acknowledge ‘Strength of Feeling’
The UK government is extending the Making Tax Digital (MTD) programme to home‑based childminders, eliminating the flat‑rate wear‑and‑tear allowance and requiring itemised expense claims. Ministers have pledged to monitor the impact, noting that only childminders earning over £50,000 will be...