The annual report of its new parent department shows that, over the course of a period of four years, the digital team will see its spending grow more than fourfold

The Government Digital Service will see its annual spending rise by more than 50% to a total in excess of £400m, according to the annual report and accounts of its parent organisation: the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

The department’s report for 2024/25 – covering the 12 months to 31 March of this year – show that, during the period, GDS spent a total of £273.4m. This figure is almost £20m higher than the £254.8m figure recorded in the prior year.

A much more significant rise in budget is planned for 2025/26, during which GDS’s outturn is planned to come in at £418.5m – equating to an annual rise of 53%.

This increase comes after a 2024/25 year in which, as well as moving from the Cabinet Office to DSIT, the digital unit has been expanded to reincorporate sister entity the Central Digital and Data Office, as well as the Geospatial Commission. It was also recently announced that government-wide cyber operations will be moved into GDS – replicating the unit’s move from the Cabinet Office to DSIT.

The science department’s accounts for 2024/25 show that GDS’s annual spending has seen several big leaps in the past half decade. Having come in around the £100m mark in FY21 and FY22, the unit’s outgoings rose to £170.6m in 2022/23, and then again to more than £250m in 2023/24.

This means that, over a period of four years from March 2022, GDS’s annual support will have increased more than fourfold: from less than £100m to next year’s projected tally of almost £420m.

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The budget boost has come as, in addition to the recent significant headcount rises, the organisation has also been engaged in delivering some of government’s biggest-ever digital services. This includes the likes of the recently launched GOV.UK App, the new government-wide One Login sign-in system, the GOV.UK Wallet for official documents, and the GOV.UK Chat tool – a public chatbot based on the same technology as ChatGPT.

In his annual performance overview for 2024/25, secretary of state Peter Kyle wrote that “DSIT is a completely different department to the one which welcomed me almost a year ago”.

“I came with a clear ambition: to put working people at the heart of everything we do,” he said. “We brought together tech experts from across Whitehall to create the digital centre of government in DSIT – the Government Digital Service. GDS was tasked with driving forward the digital transformation of our public services. We refocused DSIT’s work around three priorities: growing the economy, improving the performance and productivity of government, and empowering citizens.

Kyle added: “We are making citizens’ lives easier, too. GDS have revealed plans for ‘GOV.UK App’, ‘Wallet’, and ‘Chat’. All these will make it more convenient than ever to engage with the state. GDS have also released a suite of innovative tools to make the civil service more efficient. They are working with HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions to demonstrate the potential of technology in the public sector. I am immensely proud of what we have achieved. But, to deliver our plan for change, there is much more to do. I am confident DSIT will rise to the challenge.”