UK Government publishes roadmap to transform public services

The Government Digital Service (GDS) has published its roadmap for modern digital government, an action plan setting out how every part of the state will use tech to improve outcomes for citizens and businesses between now and 2030.

A post authored by GDS directors Emily Middleton and Christine Bellamy, updates the digital strategy first set out in the blueprint for modern digital government a year ago and highlights progress made so far.

The roadmap is designed as a whole-of-government delivery plan, bringing together major digital products, platforms and transformation initiatives that are already underway or planned. It aims to shape services so they are simpler, more joined up and easier to use across government.

“Our roadmap … sets out how every corner of the state is using technology to make government work for the citizens it serves,” noted the blog post.

The roadmap tracks progress against a six-point plan that underpins the government’s digital transformation agenda:

1. Joining up public services
GDS highlights progress on early priorities, including the GOV.UK app, which had more than 316,000 downloads by December 2025 during its beta phase, and the rollout of GOV.UK Wallet, now issuing a digital Veteran Card to over two million former service personnel. Meanwhile, GOV.UK One Login has been used by over 13 million people to access more than 120 government services, a major step towards seamless access across departments.

GDS has also recently launched GDS Local, a new unit to deepen collaboration between central and local government in delivering digital services. As part of this, a new team called CustomerFirst will work across departments to improve customer services, leveraging AI and service design to tackle long wait times and backlogs.

2. Harnessing AI for public good
The use of artificial intelligence in public services is a key theme. The roadmap highlights AI pilots in NHS A&E demand prediction and bespoke transcription tools used by probation officers to cut administrative work. GDS also plans expanded rollout of GOV.UK Chat in the GOV.UK app and on the website, backed by the growing AI Knowledge Hub to support safe and responsible adoption.

3. Strengthening digital public infrastructure
Responsibility for government and public sector cyber security has moved to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), a shift GDS says will better integrate cyber capabilities across government. New services such as a vulnerability scanning tool are already in use by thousands of public sector bodies. Common API standards are also being developed to enable better cross-government integration of systems and data.

4. Investing in talent
GDS reiterates its commitment to grow the digital workforce, aligned with a target for one in 10 civil servants to work in technology and digital roles by 2030. Existing programmes such as the TechTrack apprenticeship and a new AI accelerator upskilling programme aim to build essential digital and data expertise across government.

5. Funding for outcomes and smarter procurement
To unlock efficiency and value, GDS says new funding models will move away from short-cycle budgets toward long-term support for multidisciplinary product teams. A Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence has been launched to improve supplier engagement, and a National Digital Exchange is being developed to enhance how public sector technology is bought, with a projected £1.2 billion in annual savings potential.

6. Transparency and accountability
Recognising the scale of transformation underway, GDS has published the roadmap in full to enable public understanding of changes across government digital services. This builds on prior work such as the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard, with more than 70 records of algorithm use across services now publicly available.