British govt wants to mainline AI, but its arteries are clogged with legacy tech

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However, a report from Parliament's public spending watchdog today warned that out-of-date technology and poor data quality and data sharing is putting AI adoption in the public sector at risk.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." ®