Iain Patterson returns to Government Digital Service as director of common technology services

Government CTO Liam Maxwell 'delighted' to have Patterson back at GDS following stint at DVLA

Former Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) CTO Iain Patterson is set to return to the Government Digital Service in the role of director of common technology services (CTS).

The return of Patterson, who will take up his new position in the new year, was revealed in a blog post by Liam Maxwell, the government's chief technology officer.

In the role of director of common technology services, Patterson will be responsible for "enabling the provision of consistent, high quality workplace IT for civil servants across government".

According to Maxwell, this project will bring benefits through "better, more secure IT, more joined-up working across government, and the ability to implement changes faster and at lower cost".

Maxwell added that he's "delighted" to see Patterson back at the GDS and that "it's great to have people with as much expertise and experience" as he does.

In an interview with Computing in October, Patterson argued that the Government Digital Service is in need of a refresh following the departure of former head of the GDS, Mike Bracken.

"[Bracken] was a bit of a rock star; I worked directly for him. He's a great orator, a great strategist and he's made one hell of a lot of difference. He has set that catalyst going - I think it's always difficult to follow that act," Patterson told Computing at Oracle OpenWorld in San Francisco.

"GDS was all about creating the right drivers of change, educating people about that, showing that there's a different approach, and I think it's achieved that," he continued.

"I think, like anything else, it has asked the whole of government to change - and it's now changing. It's interesting the thing that manages to create change, needs to change itself," Patterson added.

Earlier this year, the GDS was beset by a number of departures, not only that of Bracken, but also Michael Beaven, who stepped down from his role as transformation director. Deputy director Tom Loosemore, director of strategy Russell Davies, and director of design Ben Terrett - all of whom had significant input into the way GDS has worked up until now - also resigned from their roles.