In the June 2025 Spending Review, the UK Government signalled a decisive shift: digital investment is no longer a discretionary enhancement but a foundational pillar of national capability. Across core areas of government service and infrastructure, digital technologies are being positioned as the engine for transformation, resilience, and regional renewal. Here, we explore the key allocations where digital plays a central role in reshaping the public sector.
1. Cabinet Office and Government Digital Service (GDS)
The Cabinet Office has been entrusted with a £3.25 billion Transformation Fund aimed at delivering end-to-end digital reform. At the centre of this is a £42 million pilot programme to test Frontier AI Exemplars, set to run from 2025–26. These exemplars will trial advanced AI applications in core public services—from planning and welfare administration to automated document processing. BJSS’s work on Algorithmic Transparency Recording (ARIA) and Responsible AI frameworks ensures fairness, transparency, and governance in public deployments. We are proud that BJSS is now part of CGI.
This direction builds on existing work by digital delivery partners embedded in central government, such as CGI, which works closely with the Cabinet Office as their Strategic Delivery Partner. It also requires a reimagining of how government services are delivered—faster, fairer, and more efficiently. Crucially, it will support the testing of outcomes-based investment approaches, creating a path for future digital projects to be assessed on impact rather than cost alone.
2. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
With an allocation of £86 billion through to 2030, this department receives one of the most significant investments in the Spending Review. A key focus is the development of regional innovation clusters, supported by up to £500 million to empower places like Liverpool, South Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The ambition is to build globally competitive strengths in AI, biotechnology, semiconductors, and advanced battery production. This approach reflects a commitment to levelling up through innovation, ensuring that the UK’s research and development future is geographically inclusive and economically strategic.
A recent CGI study analysing the manifestos of 12 metro mayors revealed a striking alignment around digital productivity, sustainability, and regional renewal—pointing to a growing appetite among local leaders to harness technology for long-term economic development. Meanwhile, on the ground, successful digital partnerships—such as BJSS’s collaboration with the Scottish Government to implement a cloud-first digital disclosure service—demonstrate how regional capacity can be strengthened when central investment aligns with local ambition.
Together, these examples underscore how national policy and regional delivery can—and increasingly do—work in tandem to drive inclusive, tech-led growth.
3. National AI and high-performance computing
The UK is doubling down on its ambition to lead in artificial intelligence and scientific computing. A combined £1.75 billion is being invested to scale up national computing infrastructure. £750 million will fund the construction of an exascale supercomputer in Edinburgh, while a further £1 billion will go towards expanding the AI Research Resource and compute power—targeting a twenty-fold increase by 2030.
This infrastructure will serve not only academic research but also public sector departments seeking to use AI in policymaking, forecasting, and service delivery. It represents a long-term commitment to embedding data-driven decision-making across government.
CGI's expertise in data analytics and AI can significantly contribute to these initiatives. For example, our collaboration with Soroco to implement AI-driven task mining tools, such as Scout AI, aids public sector organisations in analysing business processes in real-time, identifying inefficiencies, and transforming services.
4. Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
DCMS will oversee efforts to enhance the UK's cyber resilience and digital identity capability. Though precise budget lines are not detailed, the department has received a clear mandate to drive implementation of the cross-government Digital and AI Roadmap.
Key initiatives include scaling the Government's One Login platform, improving digital accessibility, and embedding a new Chief Cyber Security and Resilience Advisor role to ensure coherence in cyber governance. The expected impact is a more unified, secure, and user-friendly digital estate across public services.
As DCMS leads efforts to strengthen the UK’s digital resilience—especially around platforms like One Login, where protecting personal data is critical—secure, trusted infrastructure is essential. CGI’s work on intelligent automation for border protection highlights how cybersecurity and data governance must go hand-in-hand to build trust in digital public services.
5. Whole-of-government digital spend reform
A quieter but potentially transformative strand of the Spending Review involves the reform of how digital spending is governed and delivered. Following the Performance Review of Digital Spend, departments will now adopt new funding models designed for agile delivery and long-term value. These include test-and-learn funding envelopes, early-stage digital engagement in business case development, and ring-fenced budgets for maintenance and modernisation. The outcome is a faster, smarter model of public service delivery—breaking the cycle of legacy IT and shifting the emphasis to continuous improvement.
In a public sector context where reliability, user-centred design, and long-term value are vital, BJSS’s work on projects aligned with Government Digital Service (GDS) standards—such as the digital transformation of the DVSA’s driving test process—demonstrates how agile delivery can help government services better meet citizen needs while managing complexity at scale.
6. Border security and Home Office modernisation
Border security receives a headline allocation of £100 million immediately, scaling to £580 million by 2028–29. These funds will expand the Border Security Command and deploy advanced surveillance technologies, including drones, data analytics platforms, and real-time threat detection tools.
Aligned with this, the Home Office sees a tightening of its budget (-1.7% in real terms) but is expected to deliver savings through greater automation in asylum processing, digital case management systems, and reductions in reliance on temporary accommodation. The message is clear: greater operational capability through smarter technology.
Delivery partners with experience across automation, national security, and case management are well placed to support this shift. CGI has played a key role in automating intelligence-development workflows in a UK intelligence agency and brings deep domain knowledge from its case management work across the wider justice sector. Similarly, BJSS’s track record in deploying secure, cloud-based platforms for law enforcement agencies underscores the importance of trusted infrastructure when dealing with sensitive operations at the border.
Together, these capabilities reflect the kind of partnership government needs to balance efficiency with accountability in high-stakes environments.
7. Policing and public safety
The police service benefits from a 2.3% real-terms increase in funding, equating to approximately £1.1 billion in additional investment over the period. This is coupled with a recruitment drive for 13,000 new officers and targeted investments in modern policing tools, including body-worn video, digital forensics, and predictive analytics.
Digital transformation in policing is central to the strategy—enabling faster incident response, improved case resolution, and smarter resource deployment. These tools are intended not to replace front-line capability but to enhance it.
The awaited reform white paper is expected to outline significant changes to the way technology is procured and managed. The paper is likely to act on recommendations from the Strategic Review of Policing, including adapting to technological advancements, strengthening collaboration, managing resources effectively, and rethinking the organisation of policing. CGI was proud to sit on the Advisory Board of this transformational review.
8. National Crime Agency (NCA)
The NCA, a longstanding and valued client of CGI, will benefit from targeted digital investment alongside a pay uplift aligning its staff with police remuneration scales. Modernisation efforts will focus on enhancing cybercrime capabilities, digital forensics infrastructure, and intelligence analytics. This will strengthen the agency’s ability to respond to complex and rapidly evolving threats, including online organised crime, fraud, and state-sponsored cyber-attacks. It is a strong endorsement of the role digital capabilities play in national resilience.
9. NHS and digital health
Though not front and centre in the headlines, digital health continues to be a critical theme within the Department of Health and Social Care's allocation. Investments in NHS technology platforms, health analytics, and digital prevention tools are expected to accelerate as part of a wider push towards value-based care.
This includes funding for remote monitoring, digital triage systems, and AI-assisted diagnostics. The goal is to enable earlier interventions, empower patients with better data, and relieve pressure on front-line services.
Final reflections
The 2025 Spending Review demonstrates a maturing view of technology in government. No longer simply a driver of efficiency, digital is now a strategic asset—enabling smarter decisions, better outcomes, and greater equity across regions and sectors. Execution will be key, but the ambition is unambiguous: the future of the UK public sector is digital-first.
Find out more about how CGI can support UK Government achieve its digital transformation goals, deliver better outcomes for citizens, and build a smarter, more resilient public sector.
This article is written by Kam Bhatoa, Vice President, Business Engineering, Public Safety Business Unit.
