The public sector is missing out on £45 billion in productivity savings because of old and outdated technology.
Half of public services cannot be accessed online and people are spending a significant amount of time accessing services online. Meanwhile, staff are also wasting time on paperwork.
A report is due to be published on Tuesday which sets out the state of public sector technology and includes examples like having to register a death in person.
The report shows that more than one-in-four digital systems used by central government are outdated and a number of these are “red-rated” for reliability and security risk.
Last year, NHS England saw 123 critical service outages, meaning patients missed appointments and staff were forced to use paper-based systems.
Some government departments manage over 500 paper-based services and a lack of information sharing between departments also hinders processes. For example, in the health service, patients can be forced to speak to over 40 different services to access the care they need. Departments often don't share information and patients are forced to repeat themselves.
The technology secretary is set to use digital tools, AI and common sense to overhaul public sector technology 'so it saves money, treats people with respect, and just makes sense'. There will be a wholesale reshaping of how services use technology.
Changes due to be announced could save taxpayers billions by making public services more productive, as well as freeing up public servants and doctors to spend more time helping the people they serve.
A new offering from an expanded Government Digital Service will search for vulnerabilities across the public sector that hackers could use to shut down essential services.
Technology secretary Peter Kyle said: "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.
"It doesn’t have to be this way – and it won’t be with our Plan for Change. There is a £45 billion 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. The new findings are also expected to show government 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. This is despite them costing three times more than civil servants and eating up £14.5 billion in taxpayer money a year."
