Harnessing AI for the Future of Public Service Delivery
The UK is among the world’s top three countries for AI investment. Valued at £72.3bn in 2024, the UK’s AI industry is the largest in Europe, attracting an average of £200 million a day in private sector investment. With techUK’s AI Campaign Week shining a spotlight on the UK’s AI ecosystem, it’s a good time to examine how AI can assist Britain’s embattled public sector, especially in high-stakes, citizen-facing environments.
For local authorities, NHS trusts, blue-light emergency services and central government departments, the conversation has moved beyond AI curiosity. Now, the questions are around how AI can assist in improving public services whilst helping solve government’s long-standing productivity challenge. Here are three of the most important considerations that stakeholders need to know in order for AI to realize its full potential in UK public services.
The Productivity Problem
With its well-developed ecosystem, Britain’s AI tech sector now has the opportunity and the means to solve the country’s long-standing productivity challenge, and nowhere are productivity improvements more sorely needed than in the UK’s public sector. Public services are under increasing pressure to reduce costs, maximise resource utilisation and increase efficiency while meeting soaring citizen expectations. All this against a background of new structural reforms, including the abolition of NHS England, changes to the roles and makeup of Integrated Care Boards and Local Government Reorganisation to create new Unitary and Combined Authorities across the country.
Following a further fall in ‘GDP per hour worked’ last year, from an already low level, AI offers a generational opportunity to transform the experience of workers in Britain’s public sector, introducing unprecedented levels of efficiency at the same time as boosting job satisfaction. With practically every country in the world vying for AI supremacy, it is crucial that Britain stays on the front foot to improve productivity and unlock competitive advantage.
The Future of Public Sector Services
Perhaps the most important enabler of AI is people. Tech and business leaders must understand AI well enough to champion it, frontline workers need to feel empowered, not threatened, and citizens must be engaged in how AI shapes the services on which they rely.
New, AI-powered or AI-supported roles will require a blend of traditional workplace skills and new, AI-specific competencies. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report found that broadening digital skills is expected to be the most impactful trend, with 60% of employers expecting this to transform their organisations by 2030. Public sector agencies that invest in retraining and upskilling their workforces stand to benefit the most, turning potential disruption into opportunities for growth and innovation.
AI Assurance: Is Regulation Enough?
For the UK to lead, ethical safeguards and transparency must be embedded into every layer of AI development and deployment. Citizens must know when AI is being used, how and where decisions are made, and how to challenge them if needed. For AI to reach its potential in the UK, there must be active collaboration between governmental regulators and the tech industry in order to strike a balance between innovation and safety. British citizens and organisations won’t stand for bad practices and many are already demanding data sovereignty arrangements that exceed statutory requirements, especially when processing sensitive information such as health or finances.
The quality, safety and use of data remains a key consideration. The continued prevalence of siloed and inconsistent data makes AI implementation difficult for public sector organisations. The proposed Data (Use and Access) Bill attempts to standardise the way in which AI-enabled IT systems read and process information, which should help.
Driving Economic Growth
AI offers the public sector a once-in-a-generation opportunity to boost efficiency, improve workplaces and deliver more personalised, responsive public sector services. With the correct tools and processes, AI can supercharge productivity, unlock new efficiencies, and ease the strain on the UK’s public sector services.
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Contact the team
Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi is the Head of AI and Data at techUK.
She holds over seven years of Government Affairs and Tech Policy experience in the US and UK. Kir previously headed up the regulatory portfolio at a UK advocacy group for tech startups and held various public affairs in US tech policy. All involved policy research and campaigns on competition, artificial intelligence, access to data, and pro-innovation regulation.
Kir has an MSc in International Public Policy from University College London and a BA in both Political Science (International Relations) and Economics from the University of California San Diego.
Outside of techUK, you are likely to find her attempting studies at art galleries, attempting an elusive headstand at yoga, mending and binding books, or chasing her dog Maya around South London's many parks.
- Email:
- [email protected]
Usman Ikhlaq
Usman Ikhlaq
Usman joined techUK in January 2024 as Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence.
He leads techUK’s AI Adoption programme, supporting members of all sizes and sectors in adopting AI at scale. His work involves identifying barriers to adoption, exploring solutions, and helping to unlock AI’s transformative potential, particularly its benefits for people, the economy, society, and the planet. He is also committed to advancing the UK’s AI sector and ensuring the UK remains a global leader in AI by working closely with techUK members, the UK Government, regulators, and devolved and local authorities.
Since joining techUK, Usman has delivered a regular drumbeat of activity to engage members and advance techUK's AI programme. This has included two campaign weeks, the creation of the AI Adoption Hub (now the AI Hub), the AI Leader's Event Series, the Putting AI into Action webinar series and the Industrial AI sprint campaign.
Before joining techUK, Usman worked as a policy, regulatory and government/public affairs professional in the advertising sector. He has also worked in sales, marketing, and FinTech.
Usman holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a GDL and LLB from BPP Law School, and a BA from Queen Mary University of London.
When he isn’t working, Usman enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He also has a keen interest in running, reading and travelling.
Sue Daley OBE
Sue Daley OBE
Sue leads techUK's Technology and Innovation work.
This includes work programmes on cloud, data protection, data analytics, AI, digital ethics, Digital Identity and Internet of Things as well as emerging and transformative technologies and innovation policy.
In 2025, Sue was honoured with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the Technology Industry in the New Year Honours List.
She has been recognised as one of the most influential people in UK tech by Computer Weekly's UKtech50 Longlist and in 2021 was inducted into the Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in UK Tech Hall of Fame.
A key influencer in driving forward the data agenda in the UK, Sue was co-chair of the UK government's National Data Strategy Forum until July 2024. As well as being recognised in the UK's Big Data 100 and the Global Top 100 Data Visionaries for 2020 Sue has also been shortlisted for the Milton Keynes Women Leaders Awards and was a judge for the Loebner Prize in AI. In addition to being a regular industry speaker on issues including AI ethics, data protection and cyber security, Sue was recently a judge for the UK Tech 50 and is a regular judge of the annual UK Cloud Awards.
Prior to joining techUK in January 2015 Sue was responsible for Symantec's Government Relations in the UK and Ireland. She has spoken at events including the UK-China Internet Forum in Beijing, UN IGF and European RSA on issues ranging from data usage and privacy, cloud computing and online child safety. Before joining Symantec, Sue was senior policy advisor at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Sue has an BA degree on History and American Studies from Leeds University and a Masters Degree on International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Birmingham. Sue is a keen sportswoman and in 2016 achieved a lifelong ambition to swim the English Channel.
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- [email protected]
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- 020 7331 2055
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- @ChannelSwimSue,@ChannelSwimSue
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