Local Councils trial 'Humphrey' AI tool for the first time

Twenty-five local councils are trialling 'Minute' the secure transcription service which forms part of the government's 'Humphrey' AI suite. The 'Humphrey' package includes five AI tools to assist civil servant's workflows, announced in January. 

'Minute' uses generative AI to transcribe meeting recordings. It can also summarise these notes and features tools which help correct and amend summaries efficiently.   

Central government tests suggests the technology saves officials an average of one hour of administrative work per meeting. Nearly half of these officials described note-taking as the least enjoyable part of their jobs, indicating a significant burden reduction.  

The aim is for 'Minute' to help speed up local government tasks in target areas including housebuilding and social care. For example, it could help streamline the planning process by reducing the administrative burden created by planning meetings, allowing actions to be taken faster. In social care, the tool could be used to take notes between supervisors and social workers, allowing workers to focus on supporting clients. 

Lords Minister for Housing and Local Government Baroness Taylor said: "local councils are on the frontline of housing delivery, and we’re backing them with cutting-edge AI technology like ‘Minute’, so officers can spend less time buried in admin and more time helping to get Britain building."

Alongside this trial, a new AI Knowledge Hub for local government was rolled out last week to assist digital knowledge sharing. 

These developments follow the State of Digital Government Review which found that there is more work to do to successfully digitally transform local councils. They found spending on digital tools could be coordinated between councils to increase efficiency. The review estimates 50% more digital specialists are needed to successfully transform local government.