Hi everyone, Last Monday, we had a discussion about the latest DHP survey results reported this week, which didn’t really surprise anyone. Still, everyone agreed it’s good to have those findings clearly laid out. It’s worth mentioning, though, that this survey was done a few years back. Despite that, it made a solid case for…
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Analysing the Fiscal Path: Insights from Jeremy Hunt’s Recent Remarks on UK Government Policies
Introduction In a recent discourse by Jeremy Hunt, a comprehensive overview was provided regarding the fiscal and policy directions of the UK government. This discussion brings to light the government’s intentions through a range of budget proposals focusing on local taxation, benefits, and overall economic strategies. Let’s delve into these key areas to understand their…
The Role of Ascendant Solutions and Smarter Demo in Local Government
Ascendant Solutions: Richard Handy’s discussion highlighted how local councils are leveraging Ascendant’s products to streamline processes for applications for support, grants, and services. The mention of a “data lake” used by Barnsley is particularly noteworthy. Data lakes allow for the storage of vast amounts of raw data in its native format. This approach enables councils…
26/2/24 Monday Discussion Group – Data Extraction and Four-days Weeks
Hi everyone, Hey there! Just a heads up that our next AI workshop is happening this coming Wednesday at 11:00 AM. It’s our second one this year and looks like it’s going to be super interesting. We’ve got Richard Hanby talking about how AI and automation can boost revenue and benefits, and Simon Goldstone showing…
20/2/24 Monday Discussion Group — Impact of cutting non-statutory services & the latest national fraud figures
On Monday, we revisited our chat about the implications of prioritising statutory services over non-statutory ones. We highlighted concerns raised by domestic abuse organisations, who warn that reducing their funding will significantly cut the support they can provide. We also noted that support for special education has become so restricted that it’s starting to draw…
12/2/2024 Monday Discussion: Two-Child Cap
On Monday, we had a lively discussion about a recent report from the Resolution Foundation on benefit caps, especially focusing on the policy that limits benefits to two children. Lalitha Try, the author of the report, was with us, and we really appreciated her input. Our conversation, like many others we’ve had on Mondays, covered…
5/2/25 Monday Discussion Group: Councils Financial Crisis and the Knock On Effects
In our Monday chat, we dove into how the financial troubles facing local councils are also troubling for organizations like charities that depend on council funds. We talked about how this situation might lead more people who usually get help from these charities to seek help directly from the council. We also touched on the…
Automation and AI 2024 Season: GovTech on Automation & Visionary network on Co-Pilots
We kicked off our Automation and AI for Revenues and Benefits 2004 series with a fantastic talk on automation by GovTech’s Graeme Maychell and Malcolm Gardner from Visionary Network’s Co-Pilots team, with Kevin Stewart hosting the session. Graeme shared how automation can help councils manage their resources better, save money, and get things done faster,…
22/1/24 Monday Discussion Group: What is Keeping You Up at Night?
In our Monday discussion group, we talked about what’s been worrying you lately. The main concern was about subsidies. It’s really important now, especially with the tight budget at the council. It seems like the finance team might not fully understand how much subsidies are affected by things they can’t control. This could be anything…
15/1/24 Discussion Group – It never happened here… or did it? Lessons to be learned from the Post Office Scandal
This week, we talked about the recent scandal involving the Post Office. We focused on what we can learn from it, especially about making sure our computer systems are strong and accurate. We also discussed private prosecutions, which are familiar to local authorities in their roles as regulators, inspectors, and fraud teams. We remembered the…