# UK Government Strengthens Consultation Integrity

The UK government’s 2023 smoking and vaping consultation received nearly 119,000 submissions, of which almost 91,000 were identified as fraudulent automated responses. After those submissions were excluded, three quarters of valid respondents supported policy change. Although this was not a procurement announcement, the scale of the interference highlights a concrete operational risk for public consultation services and potential demand for platforms and services that detect bots, validate submissions, and protect engagement data integrity.

- Government procurement teams responsible for consultation platforms may need to evaluate bot detection, response validation, and governance safeguards when assessing service capabilities.
- Technology providers serving the public sector may find opportunities in consultation-platform security and data-integrity tools; the signal identifies a potential need, not a funded solicitation or contract.
- The figures underscore the importance of distinguishing valid public input from automated submissions when agencies use consultation data to inform policy decisions.

**Jurisdictions:** international
**Industries:** Information Technology
**Topics:** Cybersecurity, Digital Infrastructure
**Published:** October 29, 2026

### Government Entities
- Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
- UK Government

### Sources
- [Smoking consultation plagued by ‘large-scale automated interference’ from AI bots – PublicTechnology](https://www.publictechnology.net/2026/10/29/health-and-social-care/smoking-consultation-plagued-by-large-scale-automated-interference-from-ai-bots) - PublicTechnology