The UK government and Google Cloud have announced a new partnership to rid the public sector of legacy tech and rapidly improve productivity within government.
Peter Kyle, secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, announced the move during a speech at Google Cloud Summit London 2025, noting that the government looks to forge closer ties with tech firms to achieve digital transformation plans.
He described the current reliance on legacy technology within the public sector as a “ball and chain”, with over a quarter of public sector systems reliant on outdated tech.
Kyle added that across UK police forces, this reliance may be as high as 70%, leaving them burdened with high operating costs and at high risk of cyber attacks.
“With contracts signed decades ago and high costs of exit, we've seen a few tech companies really taking liberties with the public sector. In the worst cases, contracts have made it impossible for the public sector organizations to move on,” he explained.
“They've locked up their data in vulnerable, archaic servers only to have the price of maintaining that tech hiked up year on year, with no sign of light at the end of the tunnel.”
To tackle this, the government will work closely with Google Cloud to migrate services to the cloud, with an aim to give public sector organizations the chance to adopt leading edge technologies and explore the wider technology market.
Kyle said Google could invest “hundreds of millions of pounds” in the UK public sector, without attaching a specific amount to this goal.
“Britain will be using technology in more areas and more than ever before,” he said.
Kyle doubled down on the government's commitment to working with big tech providers.
“My message to tech companies is clear: bring us your best ideas, bring us your best tech, and bring it at the best price. And in return, you’ll receive access to the biggest client in the country. One that will be increasingly intelligent and increasingly digital.”
Earlier this year, the UK government announced that councils would use a new tool called Extract, built on Gemini, to rapidly process planning documents to speed up construction of vital infrastructure.
As part of the recent announcement, Google Cloud has also committed to upskilling up to 100,000 civil servants by 2030. The scheme looks to empower them with cutting edge skills and help achieve prime minister Keir Starmer’s target of one-in-ten officials becoming tech experts by the end of the decade.
The UK government has set a target of doubling the number of digital experts within the UK by 2030 and has announced several high-profile funding packages for tech since coming into office in July 2024.
Tech secretary doubles down on tech partnerships
Since taking office, Kyle has been accused of courting tech companies too closely and he took this criticism head on during his speech.
“Last May, The Guardian criticized me for meeting with the sector 70 more times than my predecessor,” he said.
“Now to this crime, I plead guilty. In truth, that was 28 times over the course of a six-month period. That equates to about twice a week, over that time. Now, as technology secretary, I simply will not apologize for meeting the technology companies: that is my job."
Kyle doubled down on his approach to the tech sector, arguing that forging relationships with tech firms is crucial for positioning the UK as an AI leader and saving taxpayers billions. To this end, he promised a much closer partnership with Google Cloud and Google DeepMind going forward.
He further clarified that under the present agreement, public sector organizations such as NHS trusts, local councils, and government departments had to negotiate with tech companies on their own and without the experience necessary to get the best deal for taxpayers.
The yearly cost of this is £21 billion, he explained, with the worst cases seeing public bodies sold tech that never works as intended.
In June, the government announced a new National Digital Exchange (NDX), a unified marketplace through which public sector teams can acquire pre-approved tech at prices negotiated on a national scale.
Kyle said the NDX will give UK tech firms more direct access to this total spend, catalyzing the regional tech sector and delivering better value for money.
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