Reflections from LocalGovCamp London 2025

Karolis Duoba
Jun 9
2 min read

AI-Powered Public Services for Tomorrow

At LocalGovCamp: AI-Powered Public Services for Tomorrow, the message was clear: AI isn’t here to replace people - it’s here to remove friction. By tackling admin overload and repetitive tasks, AI gives staff more time to focus on the work that truly needs human care and judgment.

A National Vision for Local AI

Clara Barnett, Deputy Director for AI in Local Government at MHCLG, shared her team’s vision for supporting councils. Their work centres on four key areas: infrastructure, data, skills, and ethical implementation - essential building blocks for a future where AI supports service delivery in a responsible, joined-up way.

Practical Insights from GovMetric

GovMetric also contributed to the day’s discussions with two insightful sessions. 🎤 Nic Streatfeild led a workshop on AI: Risk and Mitigation, offering practical strategies for responsible and ethical AI adoption in the public sector. 💬 John McMahon explored how AI can streamline complaints handling and unlock valuable feedback insights to drive meaningful service improvement.

Test and Learn, Not Fear and Fail

Speakers repeatedly emphasised the need for a test and learn approach. Fear of getting it wrong holds many councils back. But trialling AI in a controlled, low-risk way isn’t failure—it’s how we build confidence and capability.

More Than Just Cost Savings

Too often, AI is seen purely through a financial lens—like the £8 billion savings potential cited from the Tony Blair Institute, or the stat that 26% of local government tasks could be automated. But the real value lies in what AI enables: faster responses, more proactive services, and better outcomes for people.

Tackling the Silo Problem

One major blocker to joined-up AI adoption is the siloed nature of council operations. Different departments, systems, and definitions of success lead to disjointed citizen journeys. AI needs to be built around user needs, not organisational boundaries.

Rebalancing Trust in AI

If an AI system makes one mistake in 500, it’s often seen as a failure. Yet people make mistakes more frequently - and we accept that. To move forward, we need to build trust in AI through transparency, not perfection, and recognise its role in supporting - not replacing human judgment.

If you would like to discover some of our Customer Stories, highlighting real-world customer experience transformations within the public sector, click below.