The final panel of Day 1 at the DigiGov Expo's 2025 Citizen Experience stream delivered a frank assessment of modern public service delivery's most persistent challenge: dismantling data silos to place citizens at the centre of government services.
Expertly chaired by Matt Robinson, Head of Nations and Regions, TechUK, the session titled 'Delivering Better Services through Data: Collaborating for Citizen Outcomes' brought together a panel of experts spanning local authorities, central government, international perspectives, and the private sector. The panellists included Arsalan Engineer, Head of Data at Newham Council; Ed Weaver from Adobe's Digital Strategy Group; Jacqui Leggetter, Head of Data Platforms & Operations and Deputy Director at DWP Digital; Kiann Stenkjær Hein, Head of Digital Business Development at the Danish Climate Agency; and Vicky Ridley-Pearson, Director of Digital and Technology at the Greater London Authority.
A critical barrier emerged around funding models. When budgets are siloed by department, data structures inevitably follow suit. This structural inertia prevents government from addressing the complex needs of vulnerable citizens, whose challenges rarely align with a single departmental remit. The core message was clear: governments must stop viewing citizens as discrete interactions with individual departments and instead see them holistically across their entire life journey.
Before deploying sophisticated AI tools, panellists stressed the need for foundations: common data definitions, unified language, and trust. This requires not only secure technology but absolute transparency about how data is used and governed. The panel also challenged assumptions about technology. Not every problem demands an AI solution; often, simple, secure data exchange is the necessary starting point. As one panellist noted: "The data doesn't have to be perfect and perfectly structured in every form... connecting the data and then allowing innovation is really important."
A crucial distinction emerged between data and analytics. Too often treated as a single concept, the "and" between them matters. Analytics help segment citizen journeys, whilst data integration ensures citizens don't repeatedly provide the same information to different departments.
Data Delivering Real Impact
Several examples demonstrated data-driven approaches delivering tangible results. The Warmer Homes Discount scheme helped 3.2 million households with energy costs by sharing information with utility companies. Its sophistication lies in recognising that low-income households often "flip flop" around income thresholds, particularly those on in-work benefits. Using predictive analytics across multiple dates rather than a single snapshot ensures families aren't penalised for working occasional overtime.
Other successes included real-time APIs enabling local authorities to verify disability benefit eligibility for blue badge applications, and automatic identification of children qualifying for free school meals. Data also informed policy responses to COVID-19. When analytics revealed 18-24 year-olds were most impacted by job losses in hospitality and retail, the Kickstart scheme was launched. More recently, data showing over-50s struggling with employment has prompted new initiatives including the 50 Plus Choices programme and the "midlife MOT".
Local authorities possess granular data capturing community-level complexity, whilst central government holds vast datasets valuable for national strategy but potentially lacking local context. The challenge lies in creating the "plumbing"—secure, trusted infrastructure connecting these scales. One approach involves convening data leads from multiple organisations to collaboratively break down silos. Demonstrator projects provide safe spaces to prove value. Whilst building a digital twin of the Olympic Park using footfall data may not solve immediate challenges, it demonstrates the power of shared data and helps shift culture from individual to intersectional perspectives.
The London Office of Technology and Innovation received praise for coordinating 32 of London's 33 boroughs around shared frameworks for cyber security, digital inclusion, and data standards. Questions were raised about why similar bodies don't exist in other regions.
Learning from Denmark's Long Game
Denmark's 25-year journey building digital infrastructure offered compelling international perspective. With a national strategy spanning all government layers, Denmark has created robust foundations including e-ID, e-signature, and master data registers. The results are striking. Students applying for educational benefits receive immediate answers after the system automatically verifies identity, address, university acceptance, and parental income. During high gas prices, the government automatically provided compensation to entitled households by cross-referencing heating systems with income data; no applications required.
The master data programme took 10 years to complete, but the business case has proven solid. The lesson? Joint frameworks, direction, and investments are crucial. Individual small-scale efforts won't create the impact that matters to citizens and society. Denmark also emphasised the importance of public-private partnership, with the private sector bringing crucial technological expertise to solution development.
Perhaps the most provocative discussion centred on cultural obstacles. Panellists argued the public sector spends too much time fearing mistakes, hindering innovation. The suggestion: focus on policy and legislation around how humans interact with technology, rather than restricting the technology itself. "There's no such thing as a bad dog, it's just a bad owner," one participant observed, drawing parallels to GDPR's transformative impact on how organisations and individuals approach personal data.
The "not invented here" syndrome wastes resources. Too often, departments solve identical problems multiple times simultaneously. One collaborative example involved DWP, HMRC, and ONS allocating specific challenges to each department, ensuring solutions are developed once and shared. The call was to "leave ego at the door" and recognise data as the organisation's most valuable asset, not something belonging to software vendors.
Success metrics must extend beyond internal efficiency or cost savings. Better citizen outcomes mean measuring improved social value and reduced friction. One compelling suggestion focused on tracking "non-use" digital services so intuitive and efficient that citizens never need to phone or speak to someone. This represents a fundamental shift from traditional KPIs towards moving services to citizens at their point of need, rather than making citizens come to the counter.
Technical improvements matter: shifting from batch file transfers to real-time data access at the point of need. Services like GOV.UK One Login aim to reduce citizens proving the same information repeatedly. But the transformation also requires a model shift. One innovative approach described moving from business-to-consumer to business-to-business-to-consumer models, creating infrastructure and environments for market partners and innovators to develop solutions, rather than trying to solve everything in-house.
The panel's closing thoughts centred on practical actions: examine who you share data with and why, identify one improvement, and implement it. Understand your data sovereignty. Treat data as the valuable asset it is. Most fundamentally, the public sector needs sustained investment in foundational infrastructure, patience for the long game, and willingness to collaborate across boundaries. As Denmark demonstrates, the investment takes time but delivers transformational results. The question is whether UK government has the appetite to commit to this journey. Strong leadership and cultural willingness to collaborate at all levels aren't optional extras; they're the prerequisites for data-driven service transformation that genuinely serves citizens.
Liuba Pignataro
