Technology secretary Peter Kyle has set out details of a new suite of AI tools for civil servants against the backdrop of a comprehensive drive to boost productivity through the better application of digital skills and practices.
The AI package has been named "Humphrey" in honour of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the highest-ranking official in classic BBC comedy Yes, Minister, who became synonymous with all-powerful officialdom.
The Department for Science and Technology also used today's publication of its State of digital government review to pledge a range of other measures to target an anticipated £45bn in annual productivity gains from better digital services.
They include the expansion of the Government Digital Service and its unification with the Central Digital and Data Office; the creation of a team housed in DSIT tasked with cutting across Whitehall barriers to join up public services; and training programmes to help civil service technologists become AI engineers.
The department's plans also include a "review" of how digital professionals are paid and rewarded across the public sector, with a "view to making this sustainable and more competitive with the private sector".
DSIT said that as part of its work to raise the importance of digital skills in Whitehall, a new government chief digital officer role will be advertised shortly, with the successful candidate also serving as second permanent secretary in the department.
Additionally, DSIT said that the upcoming Spending Review will see the Treasury experiment with a new funding approach for digital services that "recognises how modern technology works".
It said experiments will aim to give public services more freedom and flexibility while encouraging them to take more risks. DSIT said public sector technology is currently funded by the government in the same way as new hospitals, with an initial burst of investment then a smaller allowance for maintenance costs – but most work to develop technology has not worked like this for over a decade.
The State of digital government review says that over the last 15 to 20 years, technology has shifted from a capital-intensive business, based on the acquisition and creation of hardware and software assets, to a "revenue-intensive business based on continuous improvement and subscription services".
Kyle suggested that in addition to accelerating a further shift towards digital-first services, ministers are minded to boost in-house digital skills in the civil service.
"Technology that sits at the foundation of our country has been left to wither and decay under the hands of the previous government, too often grinding to a halt and stalling essential public services – racking up a huge bill for the taxpayer," he said.
"It doesn’t have to be this way – and it won’t be with our Plan for Change. There is a £45bn jackpot for the public sector if we get technology adoption right; that’s twice the size of the black hole we faced when we took office, and it’s not an opportunity we can let pass us by."
Kyle said departments have been "pushed towards" bringing in contractors and consultants to complete basic technological tasks instead of full-time staff.
"This trend was driven by weak salaries and headcount restrictions that stopped departments," he said. "This is despite them costing three times more than civil servants and eating up £14.5bn in taxpayer money a year."
Steve Thomas, deputy general secretary of civil service union Prospect, said investing in digital technology is essential to modernise government, and the just-published review recognises that there should not be a trade-off between people and technology.
"The review is clear that for years specialist skills have been undervalued in government, leading to a hollowing out of crucial know-how and over reliance on expensive private contractors," he said.
"To change this, we need a new approach towards those with specialist, scientific and technical skills, giving them more say in decisions. Crucially, we need a pay framework that enables this.
"As the union for civil service specialists, we look forward to engaging with government on how to implement this plan."
Today's announcements and the publication of the State of digital government review follow last week's launch of the government's AI Opportunities Plan.
Kyle also announced the creation of a Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence, which will be part of plans to overhaul government's annual £23bn spend on technology.
Work will involve looking at how public sector organisations such as councils can join forces to negotiate costly contracts together to save money, and open opportunities for smaller UK start-ups and scale-ups to drive economic growth.
What will Humphrey do?
DSIT said its Humphrey AI package will "speed up the work of civil servants and make them deliver ministerial plans more quickly".
The package will include a tool called "Consult", designed to rapidly analyse responses to government consultations in a matter of hours. Currently, analysing consultation responses can take months and involves work being outsourced to consultants at around £100,000 a time.
Other Humphrey tools include "Parlex", which will help policymakers search through and analyse parliamentary debate to shape their thinking and better manage bills; "Minute", a secure AI transcription service for meetings; "Redbox", a generative tool to help civil servants with summarising policy and preparing briefings; and legal-analysis tool "Lex".
Minute is already being used by multiple departments; Consult is being tested with responses from past consultations.
Outside of the Humphrey package, DSIT revealed details of tools aimed at helping officials working on energy and infrastructure projects.
"Connect" is a new AI tool designed to speed up the connection of clean-energy projects to the national grid. The under-development project, which has input from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, aims to match ready-to-go energy projects with available grid capacity at a time when some projects are facing delays of up to 10 years to get connected.
Meanwhile, infrastructure AI tool "Scout" is designed to help officials ensure that multi-billion-pound projects are delivered on time and to budget. It automatically analyses thousands of documents to detect problems that could affect delivery, enabling civil servants to make "timely interventions" to keep projects on track.