Local councils across the country are set to trial a new AI tool called ‘Minute’, which promises to cut admin tasks and improve services for citizens under fresh plans from the UK Government to maximise the technology’s benefits and encourage growth.

Twenty-five local councils are taking part in the early-stage trial of Minute to speed up note-taking across the services they provide, including streamlining manual admin tasks across the planning process that could help the Government hit its target of building 1.5 million homes by 2030.

It’s hoped the tool could help speed up actions after planning meetings, allowing officers to focus on the task at hand, rather than paperwork, and make informed decisions to get construction started, so bricks can be laid quicker and homes built faster.

Minute might also help take detailed notes in meetings between social care workers and their supervisors, allowing workers to focus on offering support instead of working through bureaucracy, and automate requirements for record-keeping so officials can focus on helping residents more quickly.

Part of ‘Humphrey’, the package of AI tools built to help civil servants deliver for ministers and the public more effectively, the goal of Minute is essentially the same, to cut costs while improving efficiency, this time at a local level.

It’s not the first AI system that the Government have rolled out this year to help lessen the admin burden on local councils.

In April, the Government announced it was developing Extract, a genAI tool, built to turn old planning documents, such as blurry maps and handwritten notes, into clear, digital data in around forty seconds, reducing the 1-2 hours it typically takes planners.

These new pieces of tech follow the prime minister’s pledge to “push forward with the digitisation of government services”, with Labour hoping to find £45 billion worth of productivity savings that can help boost its plans for stratospheric growth.

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“From parking permits and planning permission, local councils handle some of the services that impact our daily lives most,” said the UK’s AI and digital government minister, Feryal Clark.

“For too long, they have been left to fend for themselves when keeping up with rapid innovations in AI and digital technology – when we know it has huge potential to help solve many of the challenges they face.

“This is just the first step as we are also going to work with local councils to help them buy and build the technology they need to deliver our Plan for Change and support their local communities more effectively.”

Earlier this year, the Government’s State of Digital Government Review revealed that local councils were spending £5 billion a year on technology, despite employing half the number of digital specialists they should be. 

The report also found that each of England’s 320 local authorities negotiates technology contracts with big tech companies independently, despite many buying exactly the same tools,  making their spending much less effective.