Transforming tomorrow: AI as the catalyst for enhanced public services in the UK

Government organisations are decisively transitioning to digital data storage to enhance efficiency and productivity. They embrace modern technologies like cloud-based solutions and artificial intelligence (AI) to facilitate access to real-time data, improve decision-making, and deliver better services to citizens and residents. While departments continue to make progress in their digital transformation, challenges remain.

In May 2024, mere weeks before former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election for 4 July, Total Politics conducted an extensive survey involving 341 civil servants to gain a better understanding of the current state of digital transformation across government, with a particular focus on the challenges associated with delivering cohesive and integrated digital experiences to citizens.

The research, in partnership with Iron Mountain, sought to explore familiarity among civil servants with AI-driven services, their AI implementation plans and the challenges they face in effectively using AI technologies to improve service delivery. The findings offer insight into how civil servants view the advantages of digitalisation and the barriers to implementing current digital transformation strategies. With the new Labour government in place, this report provides valuable recommendations and key considerations to help civil servants prepare for the future.

Finally, the results of this survey are compared with the findings of our 2023 research, also in partnership with Iron Mountain, which sought to understand data access, challenges in delivering integrated public services, and government’s IT modernisation plans.

Click below to access the full research paper.