Back civil servants to ‘rewire Whitehall’, report urges

23 Mar 2026 02:54 PM

Involve civil servants and properly invest in AI to achieve the productivity and savings the government seeks, a new report argues.

Adopt, Innovate, Transform is developed the FDA in partnership with the Fabian Society think-tank.

The argument is no longer about whether AI can work in government, but whether ministers will let it. The report argues: used well, AI could cut routine administration, free up time for higher-value work and help redesign public services around the public.

But the report warns that the “rewire the state” agenda will falter without access to the right technologies, proper training, credible incentives, less bureaucracy – and a serious effort to work in partnership with staff and unions.

A survey of 2,067 civil servants  suggests many respondents feel excluded from decisions and unclear about what is changing, and why. Only 29% say they have been consulted about AI at work, though 66% want to be more involved in shaping how their organisation adopts it.

The report also found:

• Civil servants want to be builders, not blockers: 72% have either already introduced AI to improve how their team does things, or would like to do so in future. This reflects frustration with the status quo: 55% disagree that their organisation uses resources as efficiently as possible, including 23% who strongly disagree.
• But they have concerns: 79% of respondents say they are at least “slightly” concerned about AI use in their organisation. Nearly half (49%) describe themselves as “moderately”, “very” or “extremely” concerned (26%, 11% and 12% respectively).
• Change is being done to workers, not with them: just 29% have been consulted on AI at work, and 66% want to be more involved in shaping how their organisation adopts AI.
• Engagement matters for trust and safety: among those who have not yet used AI to improve how their team works, 36% say this is because they are worried about risks to the public. However, only 3% of respondents provided examples of things that had actually gone wrong, while 56% gave hypothetical examples – a pattern the report says underlines the case for stronger engagement, clearer safeguards, and better communication.

The Fabian Society argues that these concerns reflect “insufficient clarity, consultation and communication”, rather than widespread evidence of harm – and that a serious reform programme needs staff voice built in from the start.

To build a genuine “move fast and fix things” culture, the report calls for:

• A ‘digital dividend’ for delivery: civil servants should receive performance-related bonuses if they meet agreed delivery milestones. The report argues this would strengthen incentives to stay in post and complete transformation initiatives, with milestones set at recruitment or at project commencement.
• Access to AI tools: civil servants in qualifying roles should be able to access proven personal productivity tools from a centralised, approved repository.
• Protected time for skills: civil servants should have permission to spend an appropriate amount of time on training. We propose the government considers at a baseline least of 2.5 per cent, with a higher allocation for those in priority areas.
• Departments to keep the savings: departments should be able to retain and reinvest efficiencies generated by AI – as is commonplace in business – rather than automatically returning savings, through a “Digital Transformation Reinvestment Framework”.
• Digital participation tools: a digital platform should enable staff to share ideas, debate changes, volunteer for working groups and trials, and flag specific issues with AI systems.

Dave Penman, FDA General Secretary, said:

“Our research shows that FDA members are not blockers to progress – indeed,, there is a strong appetite amongst civil servants to utilise AI to deliver better services to the public.

“However, rollout is inconsistent across departments, which limits productivity gains, gives little incentive for innovation, and fails to address the very real concerns people have about adopting the new technology.“The government’s stated desire to ‘move fast and fix things’ can only happen if civil servants are given proper access to the tools and training they need to truly deliver a smarter state.”

Sasjkia Otto, senior researcher at the Fabian Society, said:

“There is an unhelpful trope of civil servants as the “blob” – standing in the way of change and progress. But our research finds that most civil service managers could be part of the solution, if given the chance.

“To enable this, the government must resist the temptation to emulate the US “project chainsaw” model – of cuts now and questions later. Successful transformation will require meaningful investment and can only happen in partnership with the workforce.

“This does not mean talking endlessly about what can go wrong. It means giving civil servants the tools and support to make things better for the public. And it means ensuring their working lives get better, not worse, as a result of AI.”