UK Government's AI Ambitions Hampered by Legacy IT Systems, MPs Warn

MPs warn legacy IT could derail UK government's AI hopes

Spending watchdog says digital professionals need seat at top table to ensure 'transformation' The parlous state of UK government legacy IT systems is hampering attempts to adopt AI, a report from MPs has warned. In January, the Labour government promised AI would make the civil service more efficient and "turbocharge" the Prime Minister's efforts to boost economic growth. However, a report from Parliament's public spending watchdog today warned that out-of-date technology and poor data quality and data sharing is putting AI adoption in the public sector at risk. The Public Accounts Committee found that 21 out of the 72 highest-risk legacy systems in government have not been awarded the remediation funding the government promised in its 2022-25 Roadmap for Digital and Data. The report did not identify which systems had not received the remediation funding. Challenges also remain in data sharing across government to power AI, the report said. "We remain concerned at the scale of the challenge, government capacity to tackle the problem, and the significant risk this represents to successful adoption of AI across the public sector," the group of MPs said. In 2024, an estimated 28 percent of central government systems met the definition of legacy technology, including systems that were "an end-of-life product, out of support from the supplier, [and] impossible to update," the watchdog said. According to PAC chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP: "The government has said it wants to mainline AI into the veins of the nation, but our report raises questions over whether the public sector is ready for such a procedure. The ambition to harness the potential of one of the most significant technological developments of modern times is of course to be welcomed. Unfortunately, those familiar with our Committee's past scrutiny of the government's frankly sclerotic digital architecture will know that any promises of sudden transformation are for the birds. "A transformation of thinking in government at senior levels is required, and the best way for this to happen is for digital professionals to be brought to the top table in management and governing boards of every Department and their agencies." The government's AI-based efficiency drive is being led by the Department for Science, Technology & Innovation (DSIT), which promises a new package of AI tools it nicknames Humphrey, in homage to the classic British satirical TV comedy, Yes Minister. A government report estimated in January that publicly funded services, including the NHS, local councils, and central government, were missing out on up to £45 billion ($55 billion) in productivity savings because of their use of outdated information technology. However, Clifton-Brown said: "I have serious concerns that DSIT does not have the authority over the rest of government to bring about the scale and pace of change that's needed. We hope the recommendations in our report aid the government in succeeding in bringing public sector systems into the 21st century for their users, where other efforts have failed." ®

UK will struggle to boost public sector with AI drive, MPs warn

Outdated technology, poor data and a lack of digital skills mean the UK will struggle to boost public sector productivity by deploying artificial intelligence, an influential cross-party group of MPs has warned. The verdict by the House of Commons public accounts committee casts doubt on Sir Keir Starmer's promise in January of a new digital centre inside the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to "revolutionise how AI is used . . . to improve citizens' lives and make government more efficient". More than 60 per cent of government bodies said access to good quality data would be a barrier to implementing AI, and 70 per cent said it was difficult to recruit and retain staff with skills in the fast-evolving technology, according to a report published by the committee on Wednesday. It found that this was in part because much of the data needed to train AI models was locked away in "legacy" systems, which account for 30 per cent of central government IT systems. Such systems were based on "an end-of-life product, out of support from the supplier, impossible to update", the MPs said, adding that even where funding had been set aside to upgrade them, it was often later reallocated. "The government has said it wants to mainline AI into the veins of the nation, but our report raises questions over whether the public sector is ready for such a procedure," said Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the public accounts committee (PAC). The prime minister and his cabinet are betting heavily on the promise of AI to improve lacklustre productivity and underpin a revival in growth and living standards across the economy. Andrew Bailey, Bank of England governor, said this week that facilitating AI was now the most likely route "to move the needle on growth" against a backdrop of ageing populations and rising trade tensions. Rachel Reeves is also counting on advances in technology to slash civil service running costs by 15 per cent by the end of the decade. The chancellor said last weekend that the target was "more than possible", with AI already used to spot fraud and error in the tax and benefits systems. But the PAC warned that the government had "a long way to go" to build a market of AI suppliers and improve its own procurement, with a risk that it would become "locked in" to expensive contracts with a few large providers. It also said the science department had made only slow progress in setting ethical standards for AI adoption in the public sector and ensuring the transparency needed to build public trust. Clifton-Brown said there were "serious concerns that DSIT does not have the authority over the rest of government to bring about the scale and pace of change that's needed". The science department said the PAC's findings "reflect much of what we already know, which is why we set out a bold plan to overhaul the use of tech and AI across the public sector". "There's a £45bn opportunity if we get AI right, which will help us deliver on our Plan for Change and drive up living standards across the country," it added.

Government AI roll-outs threatened by outdated IT systems

Public accounts committee also flags 'persistent digital skills shortages' and uncompetitive civil service pay rates The government's ambition to boost efficiency by embedding AI in all aspects of its work risks being undermined by out-of-date technology, poor quality data and a lack of skilled staff, an influential Commons committee has warned. The report by the cross-party public accounts committee (PAC) found that more than 20 government IT systems identified as "legacy", meaning out of date and unsupported, have yet to be given funding to improve them. Government research cited by the PAC in the report found that almost a third of central government IT systems met this definition in 2024. Keir Starmer's government has repeatedly stressed its desire to increase economic growth through the mass take-up of AI systems, including in the public sector. An official plan for the technology published in January called for the government to "rapidly pilot" AI-powered services, saying this would both increase productivity and improve people's experience of dealing with officialdom. In a speech earlier this month, Starmer said AI should replace the work of government officials where it can be done to the same standard, with 2,000 new tech apprentices to be recruited to the civil service. However, the PAC report also warned about "persistent digital skills shortages in the public sector", in part because of civil service pay levels "that are uncompetitive with the private sector". The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSI), which is spearheading AI roll-outs in government, says it has previously recognised many of the same worries in two reports published in January, the State of Digital Government and Blueprint for a Modern Digital Government. However, the PAC report makes a series of new recommendations, including setting a six-month deadline for the department to specifically set out how it will fund replacements for the highest-risk legacy technology, and to also assess the costs of failing to take action. It also calls for action to improve public confidence in the transparency and standards for how AI is used in government, saying that as of January this year, just 33 official records had been published setting out algorithm-assisted decisions and how they are made. The report recommends this be sped up. The report also identifies a lack of coherent systems to learn from the mass of different AI pilots taking place across government, calling for action to address this. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the Conservative MP who chairs the PAC, said: "The government has said it wants to mainline AI into the veins of the nation, but our report raises questions over whether the public sector is ready for such a procedure. "A transformation of thinking in government at senior levels is required, and the best way for this to happen is for digital professionals to be brought round the top table in management and governing boards of every department and their agencies. I have serious concerns that DSIT does not have the authority over the rest of government to bring about the scale and pace of change that's needed." A government spokesperson said: "These findings reflect much of what we already know, which is why we set out a bold plan to overhaul the use of tech and AI across the public sector - from doubling the number of tech experts across Whitehall, to making reforms to replace legacy IT systems more quickly and building new tools to transform how people interact with the state."

Outdated legacy tech is stopping UK government from adopting AI, MPs say

Almost a third of central UK government systems are end-of-life The UK's public spending watchdog has released a report outlining barriers to AI adoption, and cites "out-of-date legacy IT systems" as a contributing factor, as well as poor quality data, and data sharing obstacles. The Department's recommendations come as part of the UK Government's plans to "unleash AI" with a plan to inject the tech into all corners of British industry with a £14 billion private sector investment. The Committee of Public Accounts estimates as much as 28% of central government systems are "end-of-life" products that can no longer be updated, receive support from suppliers, or are no longer cost effective. These legacy systems are of high priority for the Department of Science and Technology (DSIT), not just so AI can be used more widely, but because out-of-date tech can cause serious cybersecurity vulnerabilities. But, DSIT warns there "is no magic bullet" and that hardware will take time and effort to replace and fix, even admitting it needs "to get a better grip on the issue". Of the 72 "red-rated" legacy systems that are highest risk, 21 still lack remediation funding, so there is a long way to go. "The Government has said it wants to mainline AI into the veins of the nation, but our report raises questions over whether the public sector is ready for such a procedure," says Committee Chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP. "The ambition to harness the potential of one of the most significant technological developments of modern times is of course to be welcomed. Unfortunately, those familiar with our Committee's past scrutiny of the Government's frankly sclerotic digital architecture will know that any promises of sudden transformation are for the birds."