{
  "id": 14402858,
  "title": "UK government chases AI while aging IT leaves it exposed, PAC chair warns",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/uk-government-chases-ai-while-aging-it-leaves-it-exposed-pac-chair-14402858",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-14T08:15:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register",
    "slug": "the-register",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/public-sector/2026/10/14/uk-government-chases-ai-while-aging-it-leaves-it-exposed-pac-chair-warns/5302674"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The UK government is prioritizing AI development while neglecting to update its aging IT infrastructure, according to a critical assessment from Parliament's spending watchdog, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown expresses concern in his second annual report that Whitehall is struggling to address longstanding technology challenges, even as AI presents new opportunities for criminal and hostile actors to exploit government systems. Clifton-Brown warns that AI is approaching the government like a tsunami, and he remains skeptical about the government's preparedness for the magnitude of this challenge.\n\nThe Conservative MP criticizes the government for announcing reforms to enhance digital capabilities but failing to outline how it will bridge the civil service's skills gap or when this goal will be achieved. He also fears that a recent reshuffle, which created the Department for Business, Innovation, Science, and Trade, could exacerbate the situation. The report reveals that only 6% of civil servants work in digital and data roles, falling short of the government's target of 10%. The PAC warns that achieving this target will require recruiting and retaining many more specialists.\n\nAnother pressing issue highlighted in the report is the government's reluctance to tackle the long-standing problem of legacy IT systems, which pose significant risks to cyber security and hinder the adoption of new technologies. The report emphasizes that generative AI is providing fraudsters with increasingly sophisticated tools, exacerbating the issue. The Department for Work and Pensions alone overpaid £9.9 billion in benefits through fraud and error in 2025-26, representing 3.2% of its spending. The PAC notes that even if the department manages to reduce this figure to 2.8% by 2028-29, billions of pounds will still be wasted.\n\nThe Home Office's efforts to address asylum backlogs and mounting costs have also raised concerns. The department spent around £4.9 billion on asylum in 2024-25, and ministers have promised a new system, although they have not explained its workings. The PAC criticizes this as a counterproductive quick fix. Additionally, digital rights campaigners, such as the Open Rights Group, have called for the Home Office to abandon its AI asylum tools due to concerns about accuracy, transparency, and human oversight.\n\nThe report also serves as a reminder of the government's history of failed IT modernization projects. National Savings & Investments (NS&I), which initiated an overhaul of its IT in 2020 to cut running costs, has seen its price tag rise to £3 billion, a £1.3 billion increase from the initial estimate. The project has been rated red since 2022-23, indicating a high likelihood of delayed or unsuccessful delivery, and NS&I has been unable to provide MPs with an updated spending figure or a realistic completion date. In contrast, the Bank of England successfully overhauled its Real-Time Gross Settlement system for £431 million and completed the project in April 2025. The PAC recommends that Whitehall learn from this example and apply similar lessons to its existing systems.",
  "summary": "Whitehall's digital staffing falls short of its own target as ministers leave the skills gap unresolved",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Register Science",
        "title": "UK government chases AI while aging IT leaves it exposed, PAC chair warns",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/uk-government-chases-ai-while-aging-it-leaves-it-exposed-pac-chair",
        "published": "2026-10-14T08:15:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}