Technology set to create a leaner public-sector workforce, report suggests

A report conducted by Reform has outlined that the increasing advances in technology, means that managers could develop ‘leaner and better performing’ workforces which would ultimately deliver better public services.

The think tank also claimed that the use of smart machines and autonomous robots could make nearly 250,000 administrative roles redundant.

The report, Work in Progress, maintained that routine administrative roles have a 96 per cent chance of being automated and over the next 10 to 15 years. It also claimed that central government departments could further reduce headcount by 130,000, saving £2.6 billion overall from the 2016-17 wage bill.

Citing research from Oxford University, the think tank revealed that in the NHS 91,208 of 112,726 administrator roles (outside of primary care) could be automated, reducing the wage bill by approximately £1.7 billion.

Commenting on the need for Reform, the group said: “A new approach is needed. Public services should deliver outcomes that matter to users, and meet expectations of interacting via technology. This approach would see services designed around users and render at least 248,860 administrative roles redundant.

“The accuracy of decision making can be further improved by using artificial intelligence to make healthcare decisions and by understanding why mistakes that, for example, cause 10 per cent of hospital patients to suffer from medical error, are made. Securing the right people to do this is essential. New recruitment practices, such as increasing apprenticeships and using ‘gig’-economy platforms to better organise workers can inject innovation into service delivery. In short, this is a framework to make twenty-first century services fit for twenty-first century citizens.”