The Government Digital Service (GDS) has announced plans to modernise the Service Standard, replacing what it describes as a largely assessment-led model with a “living system” intended to support the full lifecycle of public services and better reflect how services are designed and delivered across government.
In a blog post published during Services Week, Emily Ball, deputy director for service transformation, and Nia Williams, service owner, said the Service Standard had been “at the heart of how we design and provide digital public services for over a decade”, helping define what good digital services look like across government.
However, they argued that the environment in which public services operate has changed significantly.
“The context in which services are delivered is rapidly changing – and so must the Standard we set for good services,” they wrote.
According to GDS, research found the current Service Standard has become “closely associated with assessment of central government services at important delivery stages, rather than embedded in continuous improvement of service operations”.
The organisation also said the existing framework is “harder to apply consistently across complex, end-to-end services that span organisations and channels”, was “designed for a different era”, and “developed with limited co-design”, meaning it “doesn’t yet reflect a shared, cross-government view of good”.
At the same time, GDS highlighted growing digital maturity across departments, local authorities and arm’s-length bodies, alongside increasing user expectations and the emergence of new technologies that are changing how services can be delivered. It warned these factors risk creating inconsistent experiences both for public sector service teams and for citizens.
From assessments to continuous improvement
As part of the changes, GDS plans to reposition the Service Standard as part of “a broader shift from a static, assessment-led model to a living system that supports the whole life cycle of a service”.
The future Service Standard will aim to:
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- Support continuous improvement and ongoing evaluation;
- Better reflect end-to-end services, including operational and non-digital elements;
- Bring together best practice from across the public sector; and
- Give leaders better visibility into service development and adoption of standards
“Our aim is simple: to make the Service Standard something organisations actively demonstrate every day – not something they prove,” Ball and Williams wrote.
Wider standards framework planned
Alongside the revised Service Standard, GDS plans to develop a broader framework of standards, guidance and support.
Rather than relying on a single static standard, the organisation intends to create an evolving framework that will allow standards to change over time based on evidence and real-world practice, while enabling organisations across the public sector to contribute to their development and adoption.
GDS also plans stronger collaboration with departments, local government and wider public sector partners to improve transparency around how standards are created and maintained.
In addition, it will introduce support services to help organisations apply standards in practice through clearer guidance, stronger links between standards and implementation, and closer alignment with communities of practice.
The relationship between the Service Standard and the Service Manual will also evolve, with GDS planning to improve connections between guidance, tools and products to make it easier for teams to move from understanding the standard to applying it in day-to-day delivery.
Public sector invited to contribute
GDS said the work remains at an early stage. Over the coming months it will focus on validating the vision for a modern Service Standard, working with partners across government and the wider public sector, developing governance and standards processes, and producing an implementation roadmap.
The organisation is also inviting teams from across the public sector to contribute by testing ideas, sharing practical experience and helping ensure the revised Service Standard reflects the challenges organisations face in delivering modern public services.
“The Service Standard exists to serve the people who use it, enabling them to change digital services and provide for citizens,” the authors wrote. “As we evolve it, we want to work openly with, and have contributions from teams across the public sector.”
