Earlier this summer, the Government announced plans to transform the technological offering across the public sector and — in particular — to move from an analogue to a digital NHS. This is part of a broader plan to modernise the country’s existing technology and capitalise on opportunities created by emerging platforms.
However, some key factors are preventing the transition, namely existing legacy systems that are deeply embedded into the public sector. But why is it so critical that the Government tackles its tech debt, and how can it benefit from major digital modernisation?
Tackling the tech debt
This isn’t necessarily a new focus for the public sector; indeed, tackling ageing tech has been on both the previous and the current Governments’ critical paths. However, Sir Keir Starmer has made several public statements highlighting the importance of delivering true digital transformation in the public sector and it seems as if there is more desire for change than in the past.
More broadly the Government’s policy agenda, led by figures such as Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, reflects a focus on digital reform.
This includes proposals to “rewire Whitehall” to streamline services and enhance government performance through technology and highlight need and commitment to digital transformation as a driver for more efficient and effective public services.
Where did the tech debt come from?
Before looking at why the modernisation of existing infrastructure is so important, we should examine how we’ve reached a position where the majority of public sector technology continues to be hugely outdated.
I’d like to stress that I’m not attributing fault or placing blame but recognising a variety of challenges in public spending decision making – particularly where spending taxpayers’ money on technology isn’t ‘sexy’ and doesn’t win votes.
Public perception rather than balanced decision-making has potentially shaped the outcome of several significant decisions in recent years. This is perhaps understandable. Few are willing to explain to the public why the Government elected to spend millions (or indeed billions) on improving public sector technology, rather than building a new hospital, for example.
Moving the dial on IT spending in the public sector
More broadly, though, there are several barriers to overcome in order to move the dial on digital transformation in the public sector. The federated nature of UK governmental departments, for example, has played a part, and pressure on public finances since the start of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 has also contributed to the lack of change.
This meant that the Government pushed transformation projects further down the line until we arrived at a stage where it was overwhelming to consider even tackling them. However, rather than looking to fix everything in one go, in reality, we need to put building blocks in place to ensure we’re creating robust, but flexible, technology foundations that are appropriate for the future.
Public sector IT procurement
The procurement process in the public sector is another key factor. For a variety of reasons, the temptation has been to select the off-the-shelf or all-encompassing approach, and to opt for the largest provider, rather than the suppliers most suited to the project in question.
Sometimes, biggest will be best, but in most cases, it benefits the Government to have a broad ecosystem of partners of all sizes in place, rather than just going for the decision that appears safest on paper. This is partly because of pressure placed on Crown Commercial Services and a lack of resources that have meant non-specialists are often making buying decisions, rather than industry experts.
The skills shortage
Skills are potentially the key issue underpinning the broader lack of focus on modernising public sector technology. There have been precious few ministers at the top level of either the current or previous Governments with technology backgrounds.
When you consider the role that tech now plays in the running of the country and the importance that the Prime Minister is placing on transforming our digital offering, this seems like a missed opportunity.
By sourcing more civil servants and senior politicians with an acute understanding of the potential that modernisation holds, the effective means of doing so and the risks of not moving forward, we would hopefully see more nuanced and strategic decision-making.
But why is tackling the tech debt so important?
Ageing technologies are by no means just an issue for the Government and its agencies. They’re also impacting several other markets. This notably includes financial services, where some of the most established financial institutions are struggling to keep pace with emerging challenger brands.
However, within the public sector, these issues are harder to tackle and change takes longer because of the scale involved.
When you add up inefficiencies across multiple areas, it’s hardly surprising that the UK trails behind almost every other major nation in productivity. Every year, UK workers waste millions of hours processing forms, manually inputting data, and fixing errors. The country could get this time back by upgrading some of the older, legacy systems currently in place. To misquote Henry Ford, a faster horse isn’t the answer.
Equally, this isn’t only a productivity issue, but a security one too. You won’t need me to tell you that most legacy systems are more vulnerable to threats than newer ones. While still robust, these older platforms contain well-known, well-documented vulnerabilities.
The addition of newer environments like cloud and mobile has only expanded these weak spots and made them more open to attack. When you consider that – like a chain – your cyber security is only as strong as your weakest point, and it is public data and finances at risk, the scale of the challenge becomes clear.
In addition, these older platforms also prevent the Government from fully embracing and leveraging emerging technologies, which could help to support further productivity improvements in the future. They also cost more to maintain. At a time when the discourse is more focused on cutting unnecessary expenditure, significant savings could be made in the long-term by modernising public sector tech.
As usual, there’s no silver bullet
Unfortunately, there’s no simple, universal solution to make this transformation a reality. While everyone is talking about AI, and suggesting it’s the fix for every problem, Whitehall is littered with the remnants of those who heralded other breakthroughs (like Blockchain, the metaverse, and countless more) as the silver bullet.
GenAI is – and will only become more of – a valued tool. But here, there are a range of different needs that the Government needs to meet. The process requires nuance, understanding and informed decision-making.
With more services moving online and public costs coming under the microscope, now is the time to deliver long-term technological change that meets the needs of the UK of 2050, let alone 2024. Encouragingly, the new Government seems to recognise the importance of modernisation, however deep-rooted issues that are blocking real change need to be tackled before we can move forward.
- Digital Strategy
