Supplier Summit: accelerating digital adoption across UK public authorities

This event was originally scheduled for 25 June, but due to the red heat warning has been postponed to 14 July, 9:30 - 13:00

Booking note

In-person places are limited and the room is curated to ensure a cross-section of the tech sector is represented. Those wishing to attend in person are asked to register interest. Due to the change in venue, a livestream will no longer be available.

Overview

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and techUK are convening the third Supplier Summit, bringing together senior government leaders and UK tech suppliers for an afternoon of focused discussion on the digital challenges facing government.

This year's format follows the same approach as previous summits: real challenges presented directly by departments, alongside structured opportunities for industry to respond, probe, and propose. The session is designed to create genuine dialogue between commercial and technical perspectives, a collaborative forum where both sides can engage substantively.

Three departments will present live challenges this year — HMRC, Companies House, and DSIT — each reflecting a genuine operational problem where government is actively seeking ideas from industry. Sonia Patel will also provide an update from the Government Digital Service on progress across the digital government agenda.

Previous summits have tackled challenges including HM Land Registry's work on validating customer application data, the Department for Business and Trade's digital licensing challenge, and DSIT's approach to legacy remediation. This June builds on that foundation.

Key opportunities

• Hear real digital challenges presented by government departments

• Engage with commercial and technical ideas to address these challenges

• Contribute perspectives and responses in a collaborative setting

• Gain insight into current approaches to digital transformation across government

Agenda

Time | Session | Lead

9:30 - 10:00 | Arrival, teas/coffees, informal networking | —

10:00 - 10:10 | Welcome and introductions | techUK

10:10 - 10:30 | UK digital government update | Sonia Patel, GDS

10:30 - 10:50 | Data update | Aimee Smith

10:50 - 11:10 | GDS Local | Jenny McEneaney

11:10 - 11:25 | Break | —

11:25 - 11:30 | Challenges introduction | techUK

11:30 - 12:45 | Challenges session (see below) | Multiple

12:45 - 13:00 | Q&A, wrap-up and close | Sonia Patel / techUK

13:00 - 14:00 | Post-event networking and light refreshments | —

The 2026 challenges

Challenge 1: Assured guardrails for agentic AI in government

As government moves from conversational to agentic AI, a recurring risk is that agents misinterpret intent and act beyond authorisation. HMRC is seeking proposals that demonstrate meaningful human control, least-privilege action, tamper-evident audit trails, and evidenced compliance against recognised frameworks such as the AI Cyber Security Code of Practice.

Challenge 3: AI for users with access needs

46% of public sector digital services still fail to meet accessibility standards. Producing an easy-read version of a policy document currently takes 6–8 weeks and costs around £10,000. DSIT is looking for off-the-shelf AI solutions — such as auto-generated BSL video, AI agents for visually impaired users, or accessibility-native development tools — that can close this gap at scale.