Artificial Intelligence
AI has the potential to help councils improve services and work more efficiently. To realise those benefits responsibly, councils need clear governance, usually set by an organisation's AI policy. Find out how the Local AI team is working with councils to develop shared resources that provide a consistent baseline and avoid unnecessary duplication of effort.
One Big Thing is an annual Civil Service programme bringing civil servants together to focus on a shared area of learning. Its 2026 theme, ‘AI in Action’, is about putting AI into practice. This year, Local AI is making the One Big Thing workshop materials developed for colleagues in MHCLG available to local government teams.
StreetLink helps members of the public share concerns about someone sleeping rough so that local outreach teams can respond. Find out about the transformative impact of a pilot project with local authorities, exploring whether AI technology could enhance the service in a practical, responsible and user-centred way.
AI is becoming an important part of how we design and deliver digital services. To help product and delivery teams across MHCLG adopt AI more safely and effectively, our Technical Architecture team developed the AI Gateway, a single shared departmental platform that gives teams a secure, consistent and faster way to access approved AI technologies.
AI is helping planning teams cut through the time-consuming work of consultation analysis. A pilot has been extended with 5 more planning authorities, delivering efficiency gains and freeing officers to focus on judgement and engagement. But success depends on strong governance, good data structure and proper quality assurance.
Local Transcribe is a new AI-powered tool designed to reduce the administrative burden on frontline staff by capturing conversations, transcribing them and producing draft case notes for review. Built by Local AI in partnership with local government, it aims to save time, improve productivity and give officers more time to focus on supporting residents directly.
Geospatial Foundation Models and their embeddings have emerged as one of the most exciting developments in AI. In this post, the AI Lab in MHCLG introduces the concept of image embeddings and their potential value for a central government department like MHCLG.
The Local AI programme in MHCLG is working with councils and the Local Government Association to support responsible AI adoption in local government. Drawing on insights from recent council drop-in sessions, this blog post shares what we heard and how we’re turning our learnings into practical support for the sector.
Local AI has been working with councils to explore how AI could reduce repetitive tasks such as drafting personalised housing plans, helping officers spend more time on prevention, casework and supporting local people. The team has developed an AI case workspace proof of concept to test how this could be done in practice.
11 consortiums of technology companies, local planning and combined authorities have been selected for Round 6 of the Digital Planning Programme’s PropTech Innovation Fund, to pilot digital solutions targeting blockers to housing delivery.
