For over a century, successive reforms have changed the face of UK welfare in response to shifting expectations. The introduction of the old age pension in 1908, for example, reflected the transition from viewing poverty as a quasi-criminal state to a position of hardship requiring aid.
Despite this change in mentality, UK welfare services have historically struggled to meet demand. In 2023, welfare accounted for almost £1.2tr of UK public spending, yet one in five people in the UK were defined as being in poverty. While COVID-19 undoubtedly contributed to people’s hardships, this trend of growing demand predates the pandemic. Staff shortages and fractured welfare services compounded the challenges.
Norway and the Netherlands are well-known for their joined-up, tech-enabled, citizen-centric welfare systems. Sharing experiences across countries can inform solutions to common challenges, fuelling more effective welfare services.
Recognise the digital opportunity
Digital services can ease workloads, streamline provision and speed up resolution. They can offer an always-on touchpoint for citizens, and gather data to inform service development.
In Norway, citizens can apply for all (approximately 30) of the Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) benefit services online, and the child benefits and pensions are automatic – removing stress for the recipient. Hundreds of in-house agile product teams support NAV’s digital developments. NAV is also piloting AI to advise case handlers during complex cases and in job centres to identify capabilities that increase individuals’ employability. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, AI is expected to aid error detection – an important low-hanging fruit.
The UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is beginning to explore the appropriate use of AI to streamline decision-making. AI offers significant benefits, including reductions in time, cost, and stress and for success. To succeed, DWP must communicate the accuracy and security of AI-infused systems to build confidence. To do this, it can draw on compelling examples from the health sector to demonstrate the potential benefits. Two examples show the scope of what can be achieved. In Denmark, an AI algorithm optimises breast cancer detection, acting as a first assessor for low-risk patients (about 70% of those screened). A radiologist checks the assessment, saving resources and time while reducing false-positive diagnoses. In Sweden, AI-powered medical robots complete medicine rounds in nursing homes, supporting residents’ independence while freeing staff to assist with complex needs. The robots could save 200,000 working hours a year by 2026 – equivalent to 125 full-time employees.
Focus on equity
While tech and digitalisation offer many benefits, not everyone is a digital native or interacts with systems in the same way. A recent UK DWP report warns that increased digitalisation in welfare may create more inequality. To negate this, fast-to-digitalise countries are working to achieve greater equity; providing services in the formats and channels that citizens require. NAV, for example, develops new welfare features with user groups to ensure accessibility and has simplified the language in official letters. In the Netherlands, Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen (UWV), commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, works with municipalities in corporate work centres to provide in-person support.
A strong welfare state supports citizens’ social and economic security across a range of needs, demographics and backgrounds. At PA’s 2023 Ingenuity Festival, we helped a government agency to explore how to ensure there would be ‘no one left behind’ by the introduction of a digital service – including staff as well as service users. The recommendations crowdsourced during the Festival included modelling how the service would be used to understand access needs.
Join up services
One major focus for welfare services across countries is prevention. Creating preventative initiatives (such as smoking cessation campaigns) is far easier with linked-up data, regulations and frameworks. In Norway, NAV collaborates with agencies such as the Norwegian Tax Administration and Health Directorate to be more data-driven and proactive and to design end-to-end services. This drives down resource expenditure, reduces errors, and positively impacts citizens.
UK welfare services don’t always operate in complementary ways, which impacts preventative strategies. To bridge the gaps, the UK government is drawing on additional resources, such as expanding the NHS Volunteer Responders initiative into a joint health and social care volunteer programme. The Care Data Matters roadmap also sets out ambitions to share information between professionals, understand care journeys, and improve local, regional, and national care management – supporting the prevention agenda. Above all, it’s important for shared systems to be secure, trustworthy, and, where appropriate, transparent. Through this, trust can be built and maintained.
Build trust
Although UK citizens readily share data with big tech companies like Google and Amazon, they are more hesitant to share information with the government, which makes inter-departmental data-sharing more challenging.
The clinch pin is trust. Only 35% of the UK population trust the government, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, 42% trust local government – a considerably higher number.
In the Netherlands, the cultural tone is different, with more services run by public organisations and flatter societal structures. Public sector organisations can access a basic registration of all citizens. Each citizen has a digital ID (DigiD) for government-related elements (as well as services such as insurance). On the MijnOverheid website, Dutch citizens can view their digital records, including emails and letters they’ve been sent. The openness around data is grounded in the confidence that it’s kept for the right reasons.
What can the UK do to foster trust in the government? Based on the ONS data, citizens place more trust in local government, so part of the answer is thinking locally, and considering how place-based structures support the wider whole.
Think regionally
After the financial crash of 2009, the UK government centred on a ‘big society’ narrative, hoping that grassroots society would fill gaps in service provision created by austerity. However, this doesn’t just happen by chance. It requires long-term coordination.
The UK’s WorkWell programme, funded by a joint DWP and Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) unit and delivered locally through local integrated care systems, sets up low-level interventions to help people with health conditions or disabilities remain, return or start work. This is testing different models for handling referrals and providing services, from across the NHS, local government, and the third sector.
Harness the best talent
At a fundamental level, high-quality welfare services rely on strong, skilled teams. Equity, digitalisation, cultural awareness, cohesion and regionality can’t happen without dedicated, knowledgeable employees. In the Netherlands, welfare employees are motivated through professional development, with a heavy emphasis on upskilling. In Norway, NAV headhunts promising students from top universities and is a preferred employer for those keen to work on UX, digital development, and programming.
In the UK, the story is less positive. Job centres experience especially high turnover due to the availability of ‘easier’ jobs with similar salaries. The Netherlands’ strategy could be easily replicated in the UK, motivating employees through development and communicating the positive impact of their roles.
Welfare services in the UK, Norway and the Netherlands face the same challenges. What strengthens welfare services in Norway and the Netherlands isn’t so much their ‘digital by default’ nature – the key success factors are joined-up services, a motivated workforce and citizen trust. By bringing services together with a focus on citizen needs, the UK can build trust and resilience as demand continues to grow. Conversely, Norway and the Netherlands can learn from the UK’s commitment to in-person services. Consolidation is king – research into shared insights will help to shape more inclusive, empathetic, citizen-centred services across Europe and beyond.
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