Rebecca Evans MS, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning for the Welsh Government has announced that the government will start exploring ways of using artificial intelligence to help administer and implement a range of public services in Wales.
In a written statement Rebecca Evans noted that the Welsh Government had founded an Office for Artificial Intelligence in June of this year. The aim of the department is to improve the internal workings of the government with regard to artificial intelligence and to draft policies related to artificial intelligence based on the latest evidence in the field and to co-ordinate the work of implementing policies with partners and various stakeholders. It was also noted that the Strategic AI Advisory Group will meet for the second time later this month to discuss the skills and priorities regarding artificial intelligence in Wales. Furthermore, it was announced that specific funding has been allocated to a series of initiatives that will be implementing artificial intelligence in a ‘responsible’ way across Welsh public services.
Rebecca Evans said:
“The funding will accelerate delivery of the projects and establish a robust foundation for future AI activity. The overarching objective is to clearly demonstrate the practical benefits that AI can offer in enhancing the delivery of public services across Wales. Each project will produce a lessons learned report and share best practice with others across the Welsh public sector.”
According to the statement, the project will help realise the following objectives:
- develop an up-to-date baseline understanding of AI related activities across Welsh public services;
- undertake an evaluation of the AI scribe tools currently being used across parts of the public sector in Wales, in areas such as social care assessments, to help inform future investment and deployment decisions;
- deploy a platform available for the public sector to test and use AI tools, such as those developed by the Welsh Government and the UK Government, and deploy an AI-enabled content design tool for others to use;
- develop a proof of concept to test the feasibility of a chatbot assistant for the Welsh Government’s new StatsWales service, making it easier for people and organisations to find datasets and useful figures without having to search through lots of complicated information;
- develop guidance for use by local authorities and others on how best to efficiently and effectively deploy AI into their services;
- deliver training on AI for public sector workers so that they can use AI;
- continue to work with the UK Government on its AI-enabled toolset “Humphrey” to assess how the tools it is developing can be made available and used in Wales.
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Chief Whip and Trefnydd has recently agreed to provide funding for a Welsh credit union to take part in a collaborative AI project which will work with a tech company and two money lenders. The aim is to explore the ways that the use of artificial intelligence can streamline office functions and automate some elements of back office work, in order to allow staff to spend more time to improve the lending process and customer experience. The intention is to share that which is learnt from the project with the Welsh Government and other credit unions in Wales as the work develops.
The statement also notes that the Welsh Government has received more than £440,000 from the UK Government’s Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund for the current financial year (2025/26) to support the aim of setting a minimum digital living standard (MDLS). MDLS is a benchmark for what people need to be digitally included, which includes things such as access to technology and connectivity, as well as the skills that are needed to use this technology. The government will commission a review to estimate how many people over 16 years old in Wales who live below the MDLS.
The statement mentions the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language, Mark Drakeford’s announcement that UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has confirmed a further £26 million investment over the next five years for the Administrative Data Research Wales Partnership, with the aim of highlighting means of using data safely, ethically and innovatively to support research in Wales.
Rebecca Evans also announced that the Centre for Digital Public Services (CDPS) will be integrated within the Welsh Government. The centre was established in 2020 as an arms length body to help realise the objectives of the Welsh Government’s Digital Strategy for Wales.
According to the latest minutes available for the Board of the Centre for Digital Public Services, a meeting in April 2025, the bord expressed concern regarding the ability of the organisation to implement an ambitious work programme and the need for specific technical knowledge at the institution. You can read the minutes of that meeting by following this link.
Rebecca Evans said of the announcements:
“These provide just a snapshot of the breadth of AI and digital activity we are driving across the public sector in Wales. It is vital that the public sector itself has the right AI skills and capabilities to grasp the opportunities AI has to offer in the delivery of public services.
I have decided, therefore, that there is significant benefit in aligning the skills and resources of the Office for AI with those of the Centre for Digital Public Services (CDPS). As a result, the functions of the CDPS will be integrated into the Welsh Government. I expect this to be achieved by April next year.
Consolidating resources in this way will streamline and strengthen the Welsh Government’s digital and AI capabilities, as well as reducing complexity and duplication. It will bring together people who shape policy and those who deliver it. It will bring greater integration and focus to our work whilst maintaining the digital and AI expertise and our ambition for improved public services digitally enabled change.”
You can learn more about the work of the Centre for Digital Public Services by following this link.
