Findings from the Cross-Government Low Code Workshop: Opportunities, risks, myths and success stories

Senior digital and delivery leaders from across government came together in early September for Demystifying Low Code: Managing Risks and Leveraging Opportunities, a joint workshop hosted by the cross-government Low Code Community of Practice, Hitachi Solutions and Government Transformation Magazine.

In the room were peers from 17 departments and arm’s-length bodies, including Defra, ONS, MoJ, DSIT, DfT, DfE, CMA, HM Treasury, HMRC, Ofsted, and GDS. The session set out to explore what low code is really doing for public service delivery, what’s holding it back, and how to scale success without introducing new risks.

“Government needs low code now more than ever as a way to deliver better services, faster, and to help our people build the digital skills they’ll need in the decade ahead,” said Diane Washbrook, Delivery Manager for ONS. “It’s about productivity, innovation, and empowerment, and we saw strong examples of all three on the day.”

Low code myths

Several myths about low code emerged in the workshop, often the same ones that delay or derail business cases within departments. We explored and challenged them on the day, with the group working through what the evidence actually shows and the experts sharing their advice.

Myth: “If we allow more people to build, we will drown in shadow IT.”

Shadow IT thrives in the absence of a visible runway. When leaders publish what is allowed, what good looks like, and how to get something live safely, the shadow recedes. The most effective programmes we discussed use tiered governance, and automation using the tools to monitor usage. Low risk tools move fast with light touch checks. Anything handling sensitive data, more users or more critical to the function of the business faces deeper assurance. The trick is providing governance and standards upfront so that teams do not guess or put effort into delivering non-compliant solutions.

“With Power Platform, because it’s all in the cloud within your security-approved cloud-based Microsoft 365 tenant, you can see everything users are building, what connectors they are using and how many users are accessing a solution” said Emma-Claire Shaw, Lead Service Owner for Power Platform at Defra. “It’s not shadow IT. It’s the solution to shadow IT.”

Myth: “Low code is only for tiny tools, not serious services.”

The stories we heard and the data we saw point the other way. Departments are already using low code to remove toil at scale in the places where volume hurts. Think correspondence and casework, policy briefings, and parliamentary questions. The value shows up as hours returned to the frontline and shorter lead times from idea to service. Where things work, it is because people started with the real process and the real users, not with a catalogue of features. 

“Power Platform isn’t a side project,” said Jack Nutkins, Head of Power Platform at Hitachi Solutions. “It is an enterprise platform that shares core services with Dynamics 365 and extends cleanly into Azure, from Service Bus to Event Grid, so when teams apply governance, lifecycle management and clear ownership, they deliver durable change at scale.”

Outdated perceptions of Power Platform came up during the workshop, often cited as a barrier to getting business cases approved. As Jack added, “It’s not the platform it was five years ago. Today, it sits at the intersection of low code, pro code and AI, the foundation for the next wave of government innovation.”

Myth: “We should wait for AI to mature before we invest.”

The most pragmatic examples from the day were human-in-the-loop tasks where summarisation, redaction, and routing make casework faster and safer. Starting small with defined prompts, clear redaction patterns, and offline evaluation sets lets services learn without putting data at risk. Waiting for ‘perfect’ time robs teams of near-term benefits and learning time.

Myth: “Low code means lower quality and higher lifetime cost.”

Poorly run anything is expensive. What inflates lifetime cost is not the style of development, it is the absence of ownership, telemetry, and a plan for change. When teams instrument their services, share meaningful dashboards with operations and finance, and retire what is not used, quality rises and cost per transaction falls. Done this way, low code becomes a route to value for money, not a tax on it.

It’s also worth recognising the cost of the status quo. Many legacy systems and spreadsheets quietly accumulate hidden overhead in the form of workarounds, manual data cleaning, and duplicated effort. Likewise, organisations often pay for enterprise platforms but only use a fraction of their built-in capability. Low code can surface and reduce these costs by standardising workflows, improving data quality, and consolidating duplicated tools, avoiding spend rather than adding to it.

Opportunities, risks and stories from the day

The workshop surfaced a wide range of use cases already being explored across departments. From automating inbox management, approvals, and timesheets to enhancing correspondence and case management for FOIs, public enquiries and ministerial briefings, to supporting finance, PMO and HR recognition processes.

Dominic Evans, DSIT Copilot Lead, shared how his team used Power Platform to automate the Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) process in collaboration with internal teams and No.10. The result; a 75% reduction in administrative time, freeing up policy teams to focus on higher-value tasks.

“I came to low code from a non-technical background,” said Dominic. “What made it click was seeing how quickly we could go from idea to prototype, test it with real users, and iterate. Its empowering people like me who think ‘there must be a better way to do this?’ to be part of the solution, not just the customer.”

Another standout story came from Defra, where an adaptive governance model has created a thriving maker community. The department now has over 1,000 members sharing templates, patterns, and lessons.

“The more we supported our makers, the better the outcomes,” said Emma-Claire Shaw. “By sponsoring a community lead and setting aside a budget for training, clinics and reusable templates, we saw quality improve and support calls drop. Governance done right doesn’t slow things down, it helps everyone move faster with confidence.”

On the day we heard recurrent concerns about security, legacy integrations, licensing optics, and perceived lock in. Those are real, and they were handled best by teams that put proportionate controls in early, while still leaving room for pace and experimentation.

Tips for senior leaders

First, treat low code as a lever for public value, not a side project. Focus on measurable outcomes that matter to employees and ministers, not platform metrics.

Second, sponsor a small, visible set of guardrails so teams can move quickly without creating tomorrow’s audit findings.

Third, ask for a simple, shared view of the portfolio; what’s live, what’s being retired, and what’s next to scale. Those three questions align effort and make trade-offs easier to see.

Tips for practitioners

Agree a light, shared operating model. Name product owners for live services. Stand up monthly clinics and publish a short catalogue of safe patterns. Prioritise two or three policy prototypes for the next quarter with clear success measures. Keep the portfolio view current so we can stop, start, and scale with intent. 

Get support accelerating your business case

• Join the Community: The cross-government Low Code Community of Practice offers peer support, shared lessons, and practical resources: https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/communities/low-code-community 

• Explore a funded discovery: Hitachi Solutions offers a Power Platform Envisioning engagement helping departments turn identified opportunities into co-designed minimum viable products that prove impact quickly. See if there could be funding available for your organisation by getting in touch:
  https://www.hitachi-solutions.co.uk/join-the-low-code-movement/ 

This report was produced by Emma-Claire Shaw, Lead Service Owner for Power Platform at Defra, Diane Washbrook, Delivery Manager for ONS, and Jack Nutkins, Head of Power Platform at Hitachi Solutions