Co-operative councils in the UK are exploring how to enhance public services by using the latest IT while staying true to their values and principles.
The brave new world of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has the potential to be a transformational tool that can help local councils streamline services and cut costs across the board. However, technological advances also present significant challenges and concerns – especially when it comes to ethics.
On the back of this, a new Policy Lab, funded by the Cooperative Councils’ Innovation Network (CCIN), is aiming to show how AI can be used ethically in line with core principles of democratic engagement and social partnership.
The work is being led by Wigan Council, with participation from Brent, Bury, Cheshire West and Chester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Kirklees, Manchester, Newcastle, Oldham, Plymouth, and Telford and Wrekin Councils.
The CCIN is a national network of local authorities who are committed to finding better ways of working for, and with, their local communities.
How can AI help them achieve this?
“Co-op Councils are led by strong values and principles so we need to look at how do we navigate this in a way that is true to our values and transform services so they mean something to people and are seen as enabling rather than just eradicating humans,” says project lead Rob Gregory, Wigan Council’s assistant director, digital and transformation.
“A number of councils are already engaging in the AI space. We can’t ignore AI but we can’t blindly accept its use in the council environment so we are looking at creating a framework for CCIN member councils to grasp the opportunities – but recognise some human-centred things are still really important”
The team is working with consultants and affiliate CCIN member, Mutual Ventures, which works with central and local government organisations to improve public services. Together they are building a blueprint for AI which can fully harness its potential in an ethical way.
The findings of the Policy Lab, which was approved for funding earlier this year, are expected to be discussed at the Local Government Association conference in Harrogate at the end of October, when a framework based on co-operative values and principles will be published along with case studies of good practice.
“Policy Labs can take up to two years but we wanted something that could be utilised quickly,” says Gregory. “The reason to come up with a framework is to help councils engage in the space in a way
which will bring value, makes good use of data and uses often limited resources in a targeted way. It’s about thinking how digital can give us added value and better targeted services to engage more time and resource to do the human things.
“Ten years ago, our Wigan Deal looked at a more co-productive way of working. We are now looking at the next 10 years and how to transform the way public services are working
to get down to what is important to people and drive change.”
As Gregory acknowledges, the challenges posed by the prospect of more AI in town halls across the UK are significant ones. After 14 years of austerity, most councils have limited funds, making it sometimes difficult to invest in the latest technologies and necessary infrastructure.
There is also often a lack of skilled personnel – and without proper guidelines there can be serious issues relating to data privacy, security and ethics. The aim, he says, is to balance the benefits, such as increased productivity, efficiency and better data analysis, with the need to maintain ethical standards.
“There is well-documented public concern around things like using AI for personal data
gathering. So we were keen we did not go in to this area without proper controls. For example,
some councils have already allowed the use of Chat GPT. It’s an excellent tool from an officer
perspective but some details are quite sensitive and councils and public bodies need to put in
controls around that and look at how we could use it as a tool in a safe way.”
Wigan Council has already pioneered QuickAction, an AI tool that streamlines
administrative tasks and frees up resources across its Strategy & Innovation and Adult Social Care directorates. The software takes on customer service tasks and routine work such as preparing detailed minutes or materials for meetings – and has already saved an estimated 400 days of work annually in business administration alone.
“Social workers are inundated with routine paperwork such as referrals and form filling, and
are under lots of time pressure when meeting with children and families. What AI enables our
teams to do is park the laptop or notebook, and use transcription software instead when meeting
referrals. You can switch on the mic, record the meeting and auto-populate referral forms – so
the quality of engagement is better too.
“We are purposefully quite cautious because of concern with ethics – however our experience
shows you can use AI in a locked-down way like this. Of course, if a child needs to be taken into care, human agency is still protecting those spaces and AI is not involved in decision-making.”
AI is also useful from a comms and PR perspective, he adds.
“We are starting to pilot an AI tool called Quick Scrape, which tells us what is being said about the council and what type of issues are being picked up. We have also created an AI working group, looking at everything from governance and transparency to data protection and consent. We have still got people answering the phone and co-op councils want to protect the human element, but we also need to do things differently and put resources into the types of services we provide in a more targeted way. We are still structured as we were 50 years ago – but the way people live their lives is very different.”
Gregory agrees public perception of AI can often be negative, with fears over issues such as cyber security and job losses.
“The perception is that it is an either/or situation – but humans should always be part of what we do. My mum refuses to do anything digital and I understand why, but we have got to balance valid concerns with a recognition that everybody’s world will be impacted by this.
“One thing we are really big on here is digital inclusion. We have a TechMates programme run by volunteers and council staff to bridge the digital divide and help people navigate the different kit, as well as drop-ins in our libraries and support to help people with tasks such as
emails and form-filling.”
He acknowledges it’s a big agenda, but Gregory hopes the Policy Lab will show that digital and AI tools can be used to deliver “good quality services based on good quality relationships”.
“Yes, some roles will disappear, but we will have other ones,” he says. “We aren’t looking to lose people, we want to shift the workforce to where they are needed and recognise there will be new and exciting opportunities for young entrants into the workforce. We have had a number of workshops
with existing councils assessing where everyone is at with this agenda, and case studies are now
emerging across the CCIN to come up with a framework to say ‘this is how we make use of AI,
but in a way that is still grounded in our co-op values and principles’.”
