It was a damp Yorkshire morning when Malcolm Gardner opened the latest Independent Revenues & Benefits Monday Discussion Group, musing that his wife had suggested mowing the grass in the drizzle — a comment that drew knowing laughter from the regulars logging in from across the country.
Once the coffee cups were raised and the inevitable Teams glitches sorted, the group turned to the two heavyweight topics of the week: property tax reform and the rise of AI in local government.
Rethinking Property Tax
Malcolm kicked things off with the week’s headline: two major think tanks — the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and Demos — had both called for bold reform of property taxation ahead of the Autumn Budget. Their ideas ranged from council tax revaluation and proportional rates to new taxes on rental income and inherited property gains.
For Robert Fox, from Swindon, the idea was familiar but fraught. “Property taxes are easy to collect — houses don’t disappear like people did under the poll tax,” he said. “But whether you value them in 1991 or 2024, it’s still about proportionality. The real question is whether the bands need stretching.”
Bob Wagstaff, who recently swapped council life for running a food bank, took the argument further. “Let’s remember, council tax isn’t really a property tax — it’s an occupation tax. If we charged owners instead of occupiers, the system would be far simpler. In truth, it should probably be a national tax redistributed locally. Then we wouldn’t have a band H in Darlington paying four times less than one in Kensington.”
Sean O’Sullivan was less convinced. “We’ve been here before,” he said. “The community charge was popular until people realised whether they were the winners or the losers. Any revaluation will create the same tensions.”
Michael Fisher pointed out that fairness in council tax can’t be separated from the uneven ability of councils to raise money in other ways. “Some authorities make millions from parking or commercial property. Others can’t charge at all without driving people elsewhere. That’s just as big a disparity.”
There was even a reminder from Bob of another quiet imbalance: internal drainage boards, which can raise precepts outside the normal caps. “In some districts, half the council tax increase goes straight to them,” he said.
For Kirsty Brooksmith of Hammersmith & Fulham, the issue was less about the principles than the politics. “It’s really difficult to find a fair new regime,” she said. “We all know it needs change, but I don’t think taxing landlords or adding National Insurance to rental income is the answer — we’d just make the housing shortage worse.”
By the end of the discussion, there was broad agreement that no government would risk tackling council tax reform head-on before the next General Election. “You don’t put that in a manifesto,” said Bob dryly. “You do the groundwork quietly, then make it the flagship policy later.”
AI: Promise, Panic and Practicalities
From tax reform, the conversation moved to technology. Malcolm introduced the latest MIT report showing that artificial intelligence is transforming jobs rather than destroying them. “It’s reshaping roles, not replacing people,” he explained. “The gains are incremental — better efficiency, not fewer staff.”
That certainly matched the group’s experience. “I’m loving it,” said Kirsty Brooksmith. “It saves time, improves how we present things, and gives us breathing space. You just have to check what it does.”
Michael Fisher admitted his authority was still focused on replacing old software. “We’re not quite there yet. Our IT team are piloting their own chatbots, but I can see how AI could help us focus staff time on residents rather than repetitive processing.”
Robert Fox struck a familiar note of caution. “We’ve got to fix the basics before we start running with AI. Some of our systems are ancient. And remember — you can’t replace a social worker or a plumber with a robot.”
Sean O’Sullivan warned against spending for spending’s sake. “We’ve all seen it: councils buying ‘robots’ and automation tools that save nothing. You have to know exactly what you want AI to do — not just buy it so you can say you have it.”
Amid the pragmatism came a flash of enthusiasm from Michelle Kettles, who had just completed training on Microsoft’s Co-pilot. “I’ve used ChatGPT a lot, but this opened my eyes,” she said. “It finds things in seconds and tidies reports that would take me hours. It’s not replacing people, just helping us work smarter.”
Bob recalled his own experience of automation: “We replaced five officers with five robots — and then hired three people to check the robots’ work. The saving wasn’t what the salesperson promised, but it did change how we worked.”
Malcolm shared findings from MIT suggesting that 95% of AI pilot projects fail to deliver real impact, not because the technology is poor, but because organisations don’t adapt their workflows or train their teams properly. “It’s not the models that fail,” he said, “it’s the humans.”
The Age Divide
The conversation took a reflective turn with a report from the King’s Trust warning that while younger workers are most exposed to task transformation, older staff risk being excluded altogether.
Robert doubted it was purely generational: “People over 45 aren’t technophobes — they just don’t always know what’s out there.”
Michael was more blunt. “Some of the older workforce haven’t developed themselves much — they’ve been doing the same role for years. The challenge is replacing that experience when they retire.”
The group agreed that councils need to draw on the knowledge of experienced staff to shape future systems while ensuring younger recruits receive structured training in AI, data and ethics.
From Hype to Habit
As the hour drew to a close, Malcolm turned to Sean O’Sullivan for the final word. “We’ve wasted money on IT before,” Sean said. “If we’re not careful, we’ll do it again — buying products we don’t need or can’t use.”
Malcolm nodded. “That’s the real risk,” he said. “Not that AI replaces people, but that we fail to integrate it properly — another case of 326 councils each reinventing the same wheel.”
The meeting wound down with farewells and thanks, the rain still falling outside Malcolm’s window. The consensus? Property tax reform may wait for the next Parliament, but AI’s quiet revolution is already reshaping local government — not with a bang, but one cautious prompt at a time.
The Independent Revenues & Benefits Discussion Group continues to provide a vital forum for expert analysis, shared learning, and open debate at a time of significant policy flux.
For more information or to join future sessions, contact Malcolm Gardner at Visionary Network. info@visionarynetwork.co.uk
The Recording can be found here
Files to download
Please note that the handout contains additional slides covering other items of interest in the news and job adverts, which are provided in partnership with Business Smart Solutions (https://www.businesssmartsolutions.co.uk/).