Government makes deal with Google to provide free tech for UK public services

A deal with Google will see the tech giant provide free technology for UK government services from the NHS to local councils.

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said he is determined to “break free” from the “ball-and-chain” technology used in more than a quarter of public sector systems and some 70% of police forces and NHS trusts.

He said Google could invest hundreds of millions into Britain’s public sector technology under the partnership, which will not see the Government pay.

The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology said Google would not have access to public sector data.

The agreement comes as part of a shift away from outdated computer technology to cloud systems with security integrated into their design.

The aim is to make sure information on services is more easily available and to save up to £45 billion of Government cash.

“We are looking to the sector to help shake off the legacy technology that costs the taxpayer an absolute fortune and leaves us vulnerable to outages and to cyberattacks,” Mr Kyle told Google Cloud’s London summit.

Google Cloud is also looking into developing a single platform to monitor and respond to cybersecurity issues across the UK Government amid increasing cyber threats.

Mr Kyle also urged other tech companies to bid for contracts “bring us your best ideas, bring us your best tech, and bring it at the best price”.

“For too long, too many governments haven’t done enough to build the positive business relationships that Britain needs to prevent the taxpayer being short-changed when it comes to procuring tech – from healthcare services, policing systems right through to benefits processes, and bin collections, right down to street sweeping,” he told the summit.