Google and UK Government ink deal to overhaul public services

Google Cloud has signed a deal to offer tech support for government services, such as those offered by the NHS local councils.

The partnership also aims to target the government’s figure of £45 billion in productivity savings across the public sector every year.

Google DeepMind will support government technical experts in deploying and diffusing “emerging technologies, driving efficiencies across the public sector, including accelerating scientific discovery.”

Government departments will also be helped to leave “ball and chain” tech contracts where companies have made it too difficult to transfer data to modern systems, with some companies hiking the prices while the taxpayer is locked into contracts.

Currently more than one in four public sector systems run on legacy tech – rising to 70 percent in some police forces and NHS trusts – whereby decades old contracts mean they’re trapped using old servers that are vulnerable to outages and cyber breaches, said Google.

Google Cloud wants to help those organisations move from legacy technology to the latest ‘secure-by-design’ cloud technology, which it said will give them more choice in future.

This strategy is boosted by a target to upskill tens of thousands of public sector workers in AI and digital by 2030 through a new Google Cloud training programme proposed to run in parallel to the partnership, helping to hit the Prime Minister’s target to have 1 in 10 civil servants working in tech roles by the same date.

“When I negotiate with tech companies, I am negotiating on behalf of the British taxpayer,” said technology secretary Peter Kyle. “Britain will be using more technology, in more areas and more than ever before. So, my message to the big technology companies is clear: bring us your best ideas, your best tech, and your best price.”

Developing a platform to monitor cyber threats

Google Cloud said it also wants to support the delivery of the blueprint for a modern digital government, which aims to overhaul public services with tech. To that end it will work with the UK Government to explore the potential of technology such as quantum computing in the public sector.

“We are deeply committed to empowering the UK public sector with the technical skills and innovative AI-powered solutions required to build a truly modern, secure and efficient digital future, delivering tangible benefits to citizens and driving significant economic value,” said Tara Brady, president, Google Cloud EMEA.

In partnership, the new arrangement will also see Google Cloud explore the potential development of a single platform to monitor and respond to cybersecurity issues across the UK Government, helping to defend the public sector from growing cyber threats.