The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced a reduction in its annual expenditure on data infrastructure by £12.6 million since the 2023/24 fiscal year, as revealed by recent figures obtained by Digital Health News.

Budget Overview

• The total budget for data spending from July 2025 to June 2026 is £25.1 million, which includes costs for staff, technology implementation, and data management.
• In comparison, the budget for the same period in 2024-25 was £29.1 million, and for 2023-2024, it was £37.7 million.

Concerns Raised by Experts

Patrick Sullivan, founder and CEO of Parliament Street, expressed concern over the reduction, stating:

“Data underpins any successful technology. Without it, how can we expect our critical healthcare services to function optimally? The DHSC’s rollback on investment in data staff undermines tech innovation and progress, highlighting a worrying trend that needs to be addressed.”

He emphasized the importance of investing in data systems and staff, especially during a time when healthcare systems are under significant pressure.

Current Staffing and Salaries

The FOI request also indicated that the DHSC currently employs 133 staff members with ‘data’ in their job titles, with a total annual salary of £6.9 million.

AI and Data Quality

Stuart Harvey, CEO of data technology firm Datactics, commented on the urgency of maintaining high-quality data:

“As AI tools become increasingly embedded into front-line services, the need for high-quality and well-governed data has never been more urgent. You can’t build trustworthy AI without clean, complete, and well-understood data.”

He noted that the foundation of effective AI lies in managing data standards, access, and governance, warning that cutting corners on data quality could lead to higher risks in the future.

Future Developments

The findings come as the NHS is set to implement an AI early warning system across UK hospitals in November 2025, aimed at monitoring real-time hospital data to identify unusual spikes that may necessitate urgent inspections.

Additionally, a survey by the National Audit Office published in March 2024 revealed that 70% of government bodies are either piloting or planning to use AI applications.

Call for Strong Data Foundations

Richard Bovey, chief of data at AND Digital, remarked:

“As AI becomes more embedded within public services, the need for strong data foundations has never been greater. Cutting data infrastructure funding at a time of growing reliance on AI sends a mixed message.”

He urged the government to prioritize in-house data capability, quality, and governance to enable safe and impactful innovation in healthcare.

Digital Health News has reached out to the DHSC for further comments on these developments.