Government sets new direction for data.gov.uk

The UK government is reshaping data.gov.uk as part of a wider push to modernise how public sector data is published, discovered and used, signalling a shift from volume to value for digital and data practitioners.

In a new post on the Data in Government blog, officials outlined a programme of improvements to the national data portal, aimed at making it more sustainable, user-focused and aligned with emerging technologies such as AI.

The changes mark a move away from the traditional model of a large, largely uncurated open data directory toward a more intentional, curated service.

Over the coming months, the team will prioritise adding curated datasets from key sectors, improving presentation, and addressing long-standing issues with the existing data directory.

Crucially, the approach will be iterative and evidence-led, using analytics, feedback and user research to determine what works in practice.

That shift reflects a growing recognition across government that simply publishing data is not enough – particularly given the condition of existing infrastructure.

Writing on LinkedIn, London’s chief digital officer Theo Blackwell MBE described the historic challenges facing data.gov.uk, including “more than a quarter of its links were broken”, “search results surfaced outdated or irrelevant datasets” and “users who came looking for data they could trust and use left empty-handed…”

Tackling discoverability and usability challenges

A central challenge the reforms aim to address is data discoverability – a long-standing barrier to effective reuse across government and beyond.

The blog highlights ambitions to make data easier to find and use through modern tools, including AI, while also improving guidance to support responsible use. Blackwell said this as part of a broader issue with how public sector data has been managed.

 “The UK public sector sits on one of the most valuable data assets in the world. But the pipes have been leaking for years – and it’s been nobody’s job to fix them,” he said.

Laying the groundwork for AI

Looking ahead, the data.gov.uk team is exploring more complex questions around the future of public sector data. These include how to support licensed and sensitive datasets, and how to enable data to be used effectively in AI-driven services.

But while reforms to data.gov.uk are significant, Blackwell warned they only address part of the picture – particularly when it comes to local government.

“Local government data is, if anything, in a worse state: fragmented across hundreds of councils, held in incompatible systems, governed by inconsistent standards, and shared too slowly to support joined-up services,” he said.

“This fragmentation creates brittleness and an inability to respond at pace when crises hit…”

A more sustainable, product-led service

Officials also stress that the new approach is about building a sustainable service, rather than a one-off transformation. The roadmap sets out phased priorities: ‘now’, ‘next’ and ‘later’ with flexibility to adapt based on user needs and feedback.

Blackwell pointed to what this could enable if done well: “When data is well-governed, discoverable and joined up, the possibilities shift entirely.”

He added that unlocking this value will depend on treating public sector data as critical infrastructure: “public infrastructure that should be owned, governed and made useful by and for the public…”

On the new national data plans, Blackwell said: “Fixing the plumbing at the centre is overdue and welcome. Now let’s do the same for local.”