Image source: Richard Townshend, CC BY 3.0
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has highlighted a number of digital technology initiatives in a drive to boost public sector productivity.
He said that, overall, the plan could deliver up to £1.8 billion in benefits by 2029 and that, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility, returning to levels of pre-pandemic productivity could save £20 billion a year.
His announcement cited the examples in the policing and justice sectors. He said it is possible to save up to 55,000 hours a year of administrative time by using digital jury bundles, and new software to streamline probation decisions, both supported by a £170 million investment.
These will be accompanied by the use of video calls for interviewing witnesses and victims of crime, piloting the use of drones as first responders and AI to triage 101 calls.
Other initiatives mentioned include spending £34 million to £100 million for the public purse by using AI to reduce fraud across government, a pilot using AI to cut to the processing time for planning applications by 30%, and accelerating the Department for Work and Pensions’ programme to move away from paper based to digital communications.
Too much waste
Hunt said: “We shouldn’t fall into the trap of thinking more spending buys us better public services. There is too much waste in the system and we want public servants to get back to doing what matters most: teaching our children, keeping us safe and treating us when we’re sick.
“That’s why our plan is about reaping the rewards of productivity, from faster access to MRIs for patients to hundreds of thousands of police hours freed up to attend burglaries or incidents of domestic abuse.”
The announcement also points to other initiatives including funding for the provision of 200 additional child social care places and investment in violence reductions units.
