Yesterday, the UK Government announced it has designated Barnsley as the UK’s first “tech town”.
Barnsley has been named the UK’s first government-backed Tech Town, with plans to trial and roll out AI across public services, education, healthcare and local businesses. Over the next 18 months, the government will work with local partners, colleges, the NHS and major tech firms to build digital skills, improve services and support AI adoption. Leading firms including Microsoft, Cisco, Adobe and Google back the plans and pledge to support local people’s access to jobs of the future.
The initiative is intended to act as a national test case for how AI can support local economies and public services, with lessons used to inform a wider rollout across the UK.
Mark Boost, Civo CEO feels that the government’s approach risks relying too much on tech giants like Microsoft and may lead to the UK importing technology rather than building its own sovereign capabilities. He comments:
“It’s exciting to see government ambition to develop AI‑led tech towns outside the traditional tech hubs, and Barnsley’s designation as the UK’s first government‑backed Tech Town marks a bold step in bringing AI into schools, healthcare and local business. However, there’s a real risk that the way this is playing out leans too heavily on US tech giants, like Microsoft.
“This approach can help bootstrap innovation in the short term, but it also means the UK may end up importing the technology and value rather than building its own sovereign capabilities here. Much of the data, infrastructure and ultimately the commercial value created may flow back overseas, rather than staying in the UK to support future British AI leadership.
“If the UK truly wants to be a global AI trailblazer, we need to balance international partnership with UK‑owned and UK‑controlled data, cloud and AI platforms, so that skills, innovation and economic gains stay onshore and benefit communities like Barnsley as well as the wider economy.”
Readers interested in the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s statement can find it here.
