Labour and Conservatives face off with election IT promises

Pledges from Britain’s biggest parties ahead of 4th July’s General Election promise plenty, but also reveal the urgent need to update public sector technology systems. 

Labour’s manifesto, ‘Change’, includes a National Data Library which would combine “existing research programmes to help data-driven public services, whilst maintaining strong safeguards”. 

Given the rate at which public bodies are being targeted by cyber crime, this last addendum seems as necessary as it does optimistic. As we discovered in our interview with a digital security expert back in April, few networks, if any, don’t have an Achilles heel. 

According to the manifesto, this library would form part of a UK-wide strategy on artificial intelligence [AI], including making it easier to plan and locate data centres. A suggestion that ties in with our own research around the future of server hubs as integral parts of neighbourhood heat networks, or even renewable energy sources. 

HMRC is also set to benefit from increased funding for digital operations, with £855million ring fenced for this in the proposed budget. The focus, ‘reducing tax avoidance’, is perhaps one of few aspects the public would agree to such a high spend on IT for one government department which has already spent more than £1billion on tech contracts in recent months. On the flip side, it is expected that once all overhauls are implemented, including Labour’s contribution if elected, these upgrades could bring in an additional £5.23billion per year. 

Beyond this, there are also promises to introduce a new Regulatory Innovation Office, helping bring the UK’s regulatory framework up to speed, including associated watchdog organisations. This is particularly significant, considering Britain is posturing to become a global leader in AI, a sector which remains largely unregulated, with rising safety concerns including from former insiders at leading developers such as Google and OpenAI. 

’Labour will ensure the safe development and use of AI models by introducing binding regulation on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI models and by banning the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes,’ the manifesto says.

’Labour will support diverse business models which bring innovation and new products to the market. This includes the co-operative sector, and we will aim to double the size of the UK’s co-operative and mutuals sector. We will work with the sector to address the barriers they face, such as accessing finance.’

Police IT is set for a major overhaul, too, while the NHS app, largely forgotten since pandemic lockdowns and Test & Trace ended, will also receive some attention. Performance information on local services, vaccine notifications, invitations for health checks, medical guidelines and clinical trials will all be introduced to the platform.

Much of that mirrors the Conservative’s plans for the tech, part of “transforming NHS technology and productivity”, with £3.4billion to be spent on changes to services, with a focus on technology, including the app, turning it into a ’single front door for NHS services.’

Elsewhere, the Tories want to boost the number of technology specialists in the public sector, although they’ve also pledged to downsize the civil service. The aim being a return to pre-Covid-19 staffing levels, which would mean losing around 86,000 jobs. There are currently 28,000 IT professionals within the existing workforce, around 5.4% of the total. 

The Conservatives have also suggested halving the amount spent on consultants and their services, which ties in with recent reports that skills gaps are leaving government departments in a weakened position as tech buyers. This move alone could potentially save £20billion annually.

Facial recognition also gets a nod, with particular reference to policing. This in itself could be problematic, though, as successive independent analyses have shown racial profiling is prominent when facial recognition is used to control crowds or track suspects. And, finally, talk of National Service has not disappeared, and this would apparently mean either a year in the armed forces or on the frontline of national cyber security.