The UK government has published its roadmap for modern digital government, an action plan bringing together integral products, platforms, and transformation initiatives to demonstrate how digitalisation across the government is improving public services, increasing accessibility, and promoting value for money.
The roadmap aims to deliver on five themes: easier lives, faster growth, firmer foundations, smarter organisations, and higher productivity and efficiency, with progress being tracked through activity levels, delivery of projects and commitments, and outcomes such as user satisfaction. “We’ve identified an opportunity of £45 billion in potential savings and productivity benefits for the whole public sector,” the government states. “We’ll start by measuring central government departments’ contributions to this by tracking the digital efficiencies they’ve identified by the end of the spending review period.”
For citizens, public services will be redesigned to be more efficient and accessible, with the government citing the example of the NHS App and plans to enable health records, appointment, and prescription management. For businesses, the government talks about simplifying procurement processes to make it easier to sell services and technology to the public sector. Public sector workers will also benefit from access to modern digital tools, data and skills, including AI tools to help complete tasks more quickly, better access to joined-up, high quality data, and opportunities to build digital, data, and AI skills.
As part of work to join up public services, the government has introduced a new team, CustomerFirst, who will offer support on transforming customer services, using AI to configure processes, tackle waiting times and backlogs. It is now looking to expand this team “rapidly”, with expertise sought in service design, solutions architecture, and product management. “As a new unit within the Government Digital Service, we have been set up to explore a fresh way of working in government,” the dedicated webpage states. “We operate with the pace and curiosity of a startup, combined with the scale and purpose of the public sector.”
Another area of focus will be harnessing AI for public good, with work continuing to build on the AI Knowledge Hub. In June the shift of responsibility for government and public sector cyber security to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology aims to “better integrate the centre’s cyber security responsibilities and expertise within the digital centre of government”. Common API standards are being developed to make it simpler for services to connect with each other, and the government commits to designing tech, platforms, and processes to help join up services, communities, and suppliers.
New programmes for technical leaders will be developed, and a focus will be on ensuring senior civil servants have the digital and data skills required to support a modern digital government, the government states. New models for services, portfolio management, and innovation will be launched in collaboration with different departments in summer of 2026, with a move away from short funding cycles to “continuous funding of persistent, multidisciplinary product teams”. The Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence will support work with suppliers and create opportunities for the UK tech sector, while progress is being made on the National Digital Exchange, a new platform to improve procurement, “aiming to unlock £1.2 billion in annual savings”.
Wider trend: government digital transformation
The government has updated its Cyber Action Plan, to tackle “critically high” cyber risk as part of the Roadmap for Modern Digital Government, looking to move toward proactive action, clear accountability, mandatory requirements, and comprehensive central support. £210 million has been invested in forming a new Government Cyber Unit, to provide direction and expert support. The government shares findings from the first year of GovAssure, its cyber security scheme for assessing government critical systems, noting “significant gaps” in departments’ cyber security and resilience, and levels of low maturity with asset management, protective monitoring, and response planning. “Nearly a third (28 percent) of the government technology estate is estimated to be legacy technology, and therefore highly vulnerable to attack,” it states.
£11.7 million in funding is to be granted to 80 digital skills and support schemes under the newly launched Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, designed to help those at risk of being left behind by digital to access online services. Funding is also being split across Scotland (£764,020), Wales (£400,368), and Northern Ireland (£267,249), to “ensure this is a UK-wide digital inclusion drive”, the government notes. One of the projects run by Age UK is aimed at supporting older people through events and skills development sessions to learn how to use the NHS App to manage their health.
The government has launched its strategic vision for men’s health, noting plans to encourage men to take charge of their physical and mental health and wellbeing, expand access to services, and reduce inequalities. The shift to digital outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan will also reflect the specific needs of men, the DHSC states, committing to exploring opportunities for men to access tailored information, support, and test booking from home via expansion of the NHS App. A new NHS HealthStore will promote access to approved digital tools and NICE approved apps to support men with weight loss and Type 2 diabetes management.
