To deliver modern, effective digital services, we must overcome a range of obstacles.
Technology and infrastructure
The public sector spends significantly less on technology than the private sector, around 30% below the benchmark in 2023.
We're balancing the need to maintain outdated systems, respond to new laws and stay ahead of cyber threats.
Operating budget pressures make it hard to invest in continuous improvement, as we must often prioritise essential maintenance over new programmes.
Collaboration and interoperability
To work effectively with partners, we need to share data and information easily.
This means:
- investing in new digital programmes
- adopting industry standards across both new and existing systems
- making sure employees have the right tools and equipment to work efficiently
Service design and user experience
Many of our services are still manual, complex and hard to navigate. People expect the same ease and personalisation from public services as they get from the private sector, and we’re not there yet.
This gap creates frustration and barriers. For example:
- it’s hard to find and access the right support
- service journeys are often broken or inconsistent
- services may not be accessible or inclusive for everyone
Skills and culture
We’re not moving fast enough to deliver the changes we need. We have found that:
- digital skills and expertise are lacking at all levels
- technology is often seen as the responsibility of the IT team, rather than a shared way of working
- our employees are dedicated, but not always empowered or equipped to adapt to change.
Digital inclusion
In our communities, poor digital literacy and digital exclusion are real barriers.
These issues often affect the people who need our services the most, deepening inequality and limiting access to support.
Data and decision-making
We are rich in data and have invested in tools to manage it, including a cloud-based data platform and data literacy training.
However, our data is growing fast and comes in many formats, making it hard to use effectively. This means decisions are often based on incomplete data.
Sharing data with partners is slow and bureaucratic, limiting our ability to act quickly and collaboratively.
Keeping up with change
The technology landscape is evolving rapidly. We need time, space and resources to experiment and adopt emerging technologies like AI.
To meet our ambitions, we must work differently, and more flexibly, than we do today.