The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is building a digital marketplace to allow teams across government and the wider public sector to access pre-approved tech deals at nationally negotiated prices.
The “first-of-its-kind” National Digital Exchange aims to modernise public sector procurement by making it faster, easier and more efficient to buy technology.
The platform, which will be created under the revised procurement regulations, is being developed alongside a “digital playbook” to guide officials responsible for buying technology towards best practice – making sure the long-term impacts of their decisions and the social value of contracts are considered.
The announcement comes after a report on Friday from the Public Accounts Committee warned that the government “does not yet recognise the scale of reform required to address longstanding issues in digital procurement".
The National Digital Exchange will have an AI-powered engine that matches public sector teams with suppliers based on what they need, and in hours rather than months, DSIT said.
Users of the platform will be able to rate and review their purchases, making it clear which tools have delivered and where promises haven’t matched performance.
DSIT said this will create “a platform comparable to an app store for the technology that underpins the British state and essential public services”, and help hospitals, schools and government departments to avoid costly mistakes and make smarter, faster decisions on which tech to buy.
The government expects the platform, which is in early development, to unlock £1.2bn a year in savings and modernise how the public sector invests in tech. The public sector currently spends around £26bn a year on tech.
The platform is also designed to open the market to more UK tech firms, with a target to boost small business involvement in government contracts by 40% within three years.
This follows the State of Digital Government Review’s warning that 209 NHS secondary-care organisations and 320 local councils go it alone when negotiating tech contracts, despite widely using similar tools – missing out on essential bargaining power. Only 28% of public sector leaders said their organisations were able to track and make sure that their tech suppliers were delivering proper value for their services.
Feryal Clark, the minister for AI and digital government, said: “We’ve all heard the stories – months of red tape, tech that doesn’t deliver, and money wasted. That’s not good enough for the people we serve.
“The National Digital Exchange aims to change that. It will make it faster, fairer and focused on what works – with real reviews, upfront pricing and smart AI to match buyers with the right suppliers in hours.
“It’s a clear example of our Plan for Change in action: cutting waste, boosting innovation and backing British tech to deliver better public services.”
DSIT said it is also working closely with organisations such as trade association TechUK to ensure the platform reflects the needs of both buyers and suppliers.