Due to finite capacity, in-person attendance will be limited, and participation will be selected to ensure a diversity of the tech sector is in the room, so please register your interest in this event. techUK members are warmly encouraged to join the interactive livestream, where you will have full access to the presentations, Q&A and online chat.
With the pace of technological change quickening and the public sector under pressure to modernise services, the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) and techUK are convening our second Supplier Summit for 2025. This second installment in our regular event series with DSIT will brief the industry on how DSIT and the Government Digital Service (GDS) plan to accelerate digital adoption across national, regional and local authorities. It will also launch an initial set of digital challenges where the government is keen to get industry input and innovative ideas.
At this event, senior leaders from DSIT, GDS, and the broader public-service ecosystem will:
- Brief suppliers on DSIT’s evolving remit and priorities,
- Introduce four pressing digital challenges* that seek fresh commercial and technical ideas from industry, and
- Create a collaborative forum where public-sector leaders and industry can exchange insights, foster partnership working and kick-start practical solutions to improving citizen services.
Challenges that have been discussed at previous Supplier Summits included:
- HM Land Registry Digitisation challenge
- Data sharing challenge
- National Digital Exchange
Register your interest in joining this to forum to meaningfully engage with public sector stakeholders.
Key challenges
- Department for Business and Trade – Digital licensing:
Many government licensing processes remain outdated, relying on PDF forms and decades-old tools, with poor data sharing and extensive manual rekeying across local authorities. This creates friction for businesses, adds an administrative burden, and can lead to harmful outcomes - such as individuals obtaining licences in one area after they are revoked in another. With over 1 million applications a year across thousands of processes and hundreds of authorities, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) aims to improve coherence, interoperability, user experience, and policy outcomes through better data standards, digital form generation, and a data integration layer.
- DSIT – Legacy remediation at scale:
DSIT plans to use the techUK Supplier Engagement event to highlight the scale and complexity of the UK’s legacy IT estate, with around 28% of systems classed as legacy, which drives risk, costs, and reduced agility. They want suppliers to propose innovative approaches—particularly AI-driven solutions—to automate remediation, transform legacy data, and predict emerging legacy risks. A recent AI-based code remediation case study will be shared to spark ideas. The objective is to reduce risk and costs while improving digital agility.
- GDS – Digital engineering 2030:
GDS’s Engineering Excellence team is seeking supplier input to help define what future public-sector engineering teams should look like as AI and new development tools transform the software lifecycle. They want to explore how AI coding assistants will reshape workflows, how teams should be restructured, what an AI-augmented engineering workforce could look like, and whether non-digital staff can be upskilled to use AI tools and deploy services. The aim is to develop a practical strategy for evolving public-sector engineering teams - covering roles, structures, training, and career paths - to deliver digital services more efficiently, agilely, and flexibly.
Heather Cover-Kus
Heather Cover-Kus
Heather is Associate Director, Central Government and Education at techUK, working to represent the tech supplier community to Central Government.
She started as Head of Central Government at techUK in April 2022 and was promoted to Associate Director in August 2025 supporting both the Central Government and Education programmes.
Prior to joining techUK in April 2022, Heather worked in the Economic Policy and Small States Section at the Commonwealth Secretariat. She led the organisation’s FinTech programme and worked to create an enabling environment for developing countries to take advantage of the socio-economic benefits of FinTech.
Before moving to the UK, Heather worked at the Office of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas and the Central Bank of The Bahamas.
Heather holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from LSE, and a BA in Economics and Sociology from Macalester College.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-cover-kus-ba636538
Ellie Huckle
Ellie Huckle
Ellie joined techUK in March 2018 as a Programme Assistant to the Public Sector team and now works as a Programme Manager for the Central Government Programme.
The programme represents the supplier community of technology products and services in Central Government – in summary working to make Government a more informed buyer, increasing supplier visibility in order to improve their chances of supplying to Government Departments, and fostering better engagement between the public sector and industry. To find out more about what we do, how we do this and how you can get involved – make sure to get in touch!
Prior to joining techUK, Ellie completed Sixth Form in June 2015 and went on to work in Waitrose, moved on swiftly to walking dogs and finally, got an office job working for a small local business in North London, where she lives with her family and their two Bengal cats Kai and Nova.
When she isn’t working Ellie likes to spend time with her family and friends, her cats, and enjoys volunteering for diabetes charities. She has a keen interest in writing, escaping with a good book and expanding her knowledge watching far too many quiz shows!
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 020 7331 2015
- Twitter:
- @techUK,@techUK
- Website:
- www.techuk.org,www.techuk.org
- LinkedIn:
- https://bit.ly/3mtQ7Jx,https://bit.ly/3mtQ7Jx
Charles Bauman
Charles Bauman
Charles Bauman is a Junior Programme Manager in the Central Government Programme at techUK.
He supports the programme’s mission to represent the technology supplier community to the UK government and advocate for digital innovation to address public sector challenges. Charles helps facilitate market engagement, foster partnerships, and ensure that tech suppliers and the government work collaboratively to improve outcomes, deliver value for money, and enhance public services for citizens.
Before joining techUK, Charles gained significant experience in research, analysis, and strategic advisory roles. At H/Advisors Cicero, he specialised in public affairs and corporate communications, while at Verdantix, he supported sustainability research and advisory projects, focusing on regulatory and environmental challenges.
Charles holds an MSc in Theory and History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and an MA in Medieval History from King’s College London.
Charles enjoys volunteering with a think tank, reading, hiking, and spending time with his dog and family outside of work.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Website:
- www.techuk.org
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-bauman-75712016b/
Fran Richiusa
Fran Richiusa
Fran serves as the Programme Team Assistant within techUK’s Public Sector Market Programmes, where she is responsible for delivering comprehensive team support, managing administrative functions, and fostering strong relationships with members.
Prior to joining techUK in May 2025, Fran built a meaningful career in the charitable and local government sectors. She worked extensively with both victims and perpetrators of crime, and notably led the coordination of Domestic Homicide Reviews across Surrey—an initiative aimed at identifying lessons and preventing future incidents of domestic abuse.
Outside of work, Fran is an avid traveller and a proud cat mum who enjoys unwinding with her feline companions.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Website:
- www.techuk.org/
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesca-richiusa/
techUK - Transforming Public Services
techUK members are transforming public services in the UK. Our community help to shape a smarter, digitally empowered public sector.
techUK drives public sector digital transformation by uniting the public sector and tech industry. Through early market engagement, efficient procurement, and innovative technology adoption, we help to modernise legacy IT, and enable efficient, secure, and personalised services.
Get involved: We run a busy calendar of activity including events, reports, and insights that demonstrate some of the most significant digital transformation opportunities for the sector. Our Transforming Public Services Hub is where you will find details of all upcoming activities. We also send a monthly public services newsletter to which you can subscribe here.
Upcoming 'Transforming Public Services' events
Supplier summit – accelerating digital adoption across UK public authorities December 2025
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