The overwhelming victory for the Labour Party in the UK general election provides a platform to reinvigorate digital transformation of public services. The mission-led government promised by incoming Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer should open up opportunities to exploit the rich seam of data held by the government to deliver better outcomes for citizens, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
GlobalData’s annual forecasts for ICT expenditure in the sector, built using a mature algorithmic model that mixes robust contract data with extensive Freedom of Information responses, indicates that around £7.5 billion is spent annually by public bodies on information and communications technology goods and services each year. The model has been used extensively by public buying organisations to model demand for tech solutions in recent years.
Rob Anderson, Chief Analyst of Public Sector at GlobalData, comments: “Whilst fiscal restraints will remain tight in the near-term as the new government secures economic stability, there is scope for realignment of tech investment toward solutions that offer better results at lower costs. These include cloud-based services replacing expensive-to-maintain legacy systems, and AI-enabled tools that deliver greater efficiency and a more productive civil service.”
The new administration will need some time to assess its priorities and an immediate boost to the govtech supplier community is unlikely before a new round of budget allocations are announced, which is expected to be in the early autumn. However, the fourth quarter of 2024 could be bountiful for suppliers of innovative solutions.
Anderson continues: “Once priorities are set, and funding is in place, suppliers to the government can expect to see an upturn in engagement, particularly in the key focus areas of healthcare, education, and criminal justice.”
Providers of solutions that can show a proven return on investment should be best positioned to benefit from this renewed emphasis on tech-enabled policies, particularly those that offer protection from cyber-attacks or deliver greater detection and prevention of fraudulent activity which costs the public purse billions of pounds each year.
Anderson concludes: “Through Ministers-in-waiting like Peter Kyle, and Darren Jones, Labour Party has expressed enthusiasm for the part that technology can play in reinvigorating Britain’s economy. With a raft of new MPs with tech experience, dubbed the #digital40, there will be brains aplenty to ensure policy can be developed in lockstep with digital delivery channels.
“Following a long period of slow, almost stagnant advances in reforming administrative processes under the previous regime, suppliers should be optimistic that the dawn of a new era of public-private partnership in the delivery of services fit for the 21st century is just around the corner.”
