techUK is excited to announce its latest report, Seven Tech Priorities for Government, supported by polling from Public First.
Download our Seven Tech Priorities here
In June 2023, techUK published our UK Tech Plan. The Plan set out a range of opportunities that the next Government could seize by working with the tech sector to confront the challenges our country faces.
Since the Tech Plan was published, and as the applications of technologies such as AI have become more widely recognised, politicians are increasingly turning towards technology and innovation to boost economic growth and help overcome challenges in the public sector such as health, education, justice, and the drive for net zero.
Example: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt MP has set an aim to position the UK as the next Silicon Valley with the Government enacting reforms to create a regulatory and funding environment designed to support the growth of technologies with a high potential in the UK for example AI and bio technologies.
Example: Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting MP has regularly talked about the need for reform of the NHS to improve the use of technology. Highlighting that 80% of NHS Trusts are still using pagers and that a report by Progressive Policy Research shows that automation could save the NHS up to £12.5 billion in staff time.
However, with an election on the horizon, tech business leaders will want our politicians to set out the detail of how they will remove the barriers to the ambitions of tech sector leaders and take action to address the threats to their success, enabling the full benefits of technological innovation for the UK.
How Technological Innovation is Already Helping the UK
- Caring for an ageing population: Virtual wards are making it easier to care for people in the community, saving the health system up to £2,000 per patient per annum. Additionally, more than four in five NHS workers believe greater investment in technology can help to attract people into the NHS.
- Growing the economy: Generative AI is already helping boost productivity, with a recent survey showing it can increase productivity by up to 14%, with more junior workers benefiting the most, as staff reclaim time to train and upskill.
- Reducing the cost of public services: Digital IDs are reducing the cost of and accelerating delivery of public services, with people in Scotland for example no longer having to travel into council buildings to verify their identity for a range of services, saving both the public and local authorities time and money.
- Drive forward the net zero transition: Internet of things and Artifical Intelligence are already making energy and carbon savings. 62% of manufactures who have adopted digital technologies reported savings of between £10,000-£100,000 on their balance sheets over the past 12 months.
Click here for the full press release