MPs Urge Government to Prioritise AI Upskilling for Civil Servants Amid Growing Digital Divide

The UK government is being urged to invest in upskilling civil servants to effectively deploy AI across public services, according to a new report from Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The report titled Smarter Delivery of Public Services, reveals how gaps in digital advancement among government departments is contributing to service backlogs and poorer outcomes for citizens.

The call to action follows months of debate around modernising the civil service and integrating AI responsibly into frontline operations.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, chair of PAC, argued: “The government cannot expect civil servants to become magically more productive simply because it purchases AI platforms to run on their computers”.

“To ensure that AI is used safely and effectively to transform services for the citizen, those at the sharp end of deploying it must be actively upskilled in its use.”

Public Sector Faces Fierce Competition for AI Talent

The challenge, according to Gareth Oldale, head of privacy and cybersecurity at law firm TLT, is that “the public sector is expected to do more with less, whether using AI to tackle cybercrime or in healthcare diagnosing conditions. The benefits are huge, but so is the skills gap,” he said.

Olade also warned that the competition for top talent is ‘fierce’ and that the public sector must balance recruitment with comprehensive upskilling for existing staff. “The public sector also has the added challenge of enforcing responsible AI use across industries – so regulators need the same expertise to hold others to account.”

 Sheila Flavell, CBE, COO of FDM Group, noted that commented that with the move toward an increasingly AI-driven workplace, the ability to adapt and evolve has never been more critical, especially within the public sector.

“Civil servants are at the heart of delivering vital public services, yet many lack access to the hands-on digital training needed to use AI effectively,” she said.

Flavell said the company’s recent whitepaper shows 32 percent of organisations cite a shortage of specialist skills as a key barrier to successful AI adoption, “explaining why so many projects are delayed or abandoned, not through a lack of ambition, but a lack of readiness.”

“Without investment in upskilling of AI skills, the public sector risks falling behind and missing the opportunity to fully leverage the potential of AI in its favour. Continuous, practical learning is essential to keep skills relevant and ensure civil servants can harness AI safely and efficiently.”

This sentiment is reinforced by Pluralsight research, which also revealed that while 95 percent of UK business leaders see upskilling as a strategic priority, half of employees say they lack time for training, contributing to nearly half of AI projects in 2025 being abandoned due to skill shortages.

Bridging the Digital Skills and Inclusion Gap

The PAC report calls for a clearer digital skills framework across the Operational Delivery Profession (ODP), which represents more than half of the civil service’s 290,000-strong workforce.

Elizabeth Anderson, CEO of the Digital Poverty Alliance, commented: “The widening digital gap is not just a matter of skills, it’s also about digital inclusion. While upskilling civil servants to use AI effectively is critical, we must also ensure that all citizens can access and benefit from digital services. Without addressing both sides of the equation, there is a real risk that parts of society will be left behind, and public services will fail to reach those who need them most.

“Bridging this gap requires investing in workforce training, promoting digital literacy across communities, and ensuring that government technology is accessible, secure, and usable for everyone. Only by tackling both skills and inclusion can AI deliver its full potential to improve public services and outcomes for all citizens.”