How AI solutions could help balance the budgets of the South's councils

"Council has budget hole of millions" is not a headline which surprises anyone working or dealing with local government.

But the extent of the issue has been revealed in new research from the BBC Shared Data Unit.

Hampshire County Council needs to find £179.7m by the end of 2027/28.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has the second largest budget gap per head of population in England, £66.9m in 2027/28 - that's £419.71 per person.

To help them become more efficient, many councils are now increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI).

But will that improve services for people who use them, many of whom will be vulnerable or elderly?

Oxfordshire County Council considers itself an early adopter, using it in childrens and adults' social care, including home to school transport planning.

"Routes can be complicated, perhaps a child with autism who can't be in a taxi for more than 20 minutes so we need to plot journeys which AI can do," said councillor Tim Bearder, leader of Oxfordshire County Council

The council is one of many that uses AI to transcribe conversations on care visits, "it saves social workers spending ages typing up copious notes," Bearder added.

But when you call the council he said you might also engage with an AI virtual assistant: "It's really innovative and can tell the tone of an individual, if they're angry for example, and adapt their responses accordingly.

"It saves a lot of queuing on the phone, but you can opt out of it if you want to speak to a real person."

West Berkshire Council has also been using AI to predict where potholes will appear.

It has been part of a trial to use image recognition technology for automated road condition inspection.

Devices fitted to council vehicles take pictures every 10 metres and detect changes in road surfaces over time, flagging potential changes and potholes which appear before they're reported by members of the public.

The system and the teams that repair earned the council a green rating from the Department of Transport.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has been running a trial using AI in its childrens's services department.

Nia - the Family Hub chatbot - responds to questions about services, sessions and information as well as activities in the area.

Councillor Andy Martin, BCP Council Cabinet Member for Customer, Communications and Culture said the technology was "boosting productivity and efficiency, while making sure the skills, expertise and judgement of our staff remain at the heart of everything we do".

No council could give a solid figure on how much AI was saving them financially but many said relieving pressure on a workforce feeling increasingly stretched was a benefit.

There are some concerns about the growing use of AI however.

Local government is struggling to keep up with the increasing demands in adult and childrens' social care and technology, fields where human interaction is important.

Nick Adams-King, leader of Hampshire county said: "Councils have a duty to embrace innovation where it improves services and delivers better value for taxpayers.

"But innovation must not become an excuse for withdrawing human contact and no council can automate its way out of structural underfunding."

And AI is often only as good as the humans who use it and correct its mistakes.

UNISON South East regional manager Ryan Slaughter, who represents thousands of council staff said the union welcomes AI if it helps staff do their jobs better and frees them up to focus on supporting residents.

But he added "staff need to be properly involved in decisions about how new technology is introduced and how it affects their work".