The UK government has launched a series of new data-driven Kickstarter projects aimed at improving public services by making better use of public sector data. These initiatives are designed to reduce bureaucracy, target support more effectively, and explore how artificial intelligence can help address everyday challenges, from rising energy bills to legal guidance for small businesses.
Five new projects have been introduced in partnership with the Government Digital Service and various public sector bodies. They will test how data held across different departments can be securely linked and analysed, while ensuring responsible use and robust privacy safeguards.
One project focuses on energy bill support, aiming to bring together data from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Work and Pensions, and HM Revenue and Customs. By accurately identifying households most in need, the project seeks to deliver assistance automatically, reducing the need for complex applications and repeated assessments, and making support faster, fairer, and easier to access.
Another initiative is developing a Get Adult Social Care Data service in collaboration with the Department of Health and Social Care. The platform will collect and present essential social care data in clear, accessible formats to help researchers, local authorities, and organisations such as the NHS plan care services more effectively. Improved data sharing is expected to ensure support reaches those who need it most, while maintaining strict data protection standards.
The government is also testing ways to reduce administrative burdens for disabled people and those with long-term health conditions. By integrating data across services, the initiative aims to prevent individuals from repeatedly providing the same information, helping them remain in work, re-enter employment, or participate more actively in their communities while reducing delays caused by fragmented systems.
Several projects will explore the use of artificial intelligence to unlock trusted public sector data. This includes making legal data from the National Archives more accessible to small and medium-sized businesses, and transforming Met Office weather and climate data into formats better suited for AI tools to support local planning, such as winter road management or seasonal demand responses.
Alongside these data initiatives, the government has announced a significant expansion of the UK’s supercomputing capacity. A £16 million investment will increase the AI Research Resource at the University of Cambridge sixfold by spring 2026, complemented by a National Compute Resource funded through UK Research and Innovation, further supporting AI and data-driven research.
