Briefly describe the initiative/ project/service; please include your aims and objectives

Wigan Council is pioneering ethical AI to transform public services. Every solution is co-designed with frontline staff, residents and delivered within a robust governance framework to ensure transparency, accountability, and public trust. From streamlining complex processes to improving resident engagement, our approach prioritises fairness and responsibility at every stage. We’ve introduced an AI Apprenticeship, launched a Social Care Virtual assistant and established a Generative AI Working Group to embed safe, purposeful innovation. The outcome is faster decisions, better services, and a replicable model for responsible AI adoption, putting people first while harnessing technology to meet community needs. Our approach ensures that technology enhances, rather than disrupts, the human touch at the heart of public service. It delivers measurable impact because it starts with the problem, not the product. By embedding ethical principles, listening to staff feedback, and iterating based on lived experience, Wigan has set a new standard for responsible, practical, and transformative use of AI in local government.

46.6% of Wigan Council’s total budget is now spent on Adult Social Care, increasing demands means staff must manage growing volumes without extra headcount. Children’s Services are under pressure with a budget deficit of over £9m. Across all services staff are stretched, spending more time on firefighting than prevention.. We have a duty to strengthen our digital eco[1]system without compromising on quality. This involves our communities, tech providers, schools, strategic partners, local business and training providers.

AI tools have shown significant benefits and results. The Education, Health and Care Plan tool has reduced the time spent in producing an EHCP Plan from 6 hours saving up to one hour per plan, which is a game-changer for EHCP Plan writers in our SEND Support Team. However, the most important benefits are for our children, young people and families who will experience a reduced wait time and for our schools who can be assured that the right support is in place.

Working in partnership with Agilisys Transform and service teams, we have codeveloped an AI toolkit that now supports Adult Social Care, SEND/EHCP writing, case auditing, meeting management, and largescale resident feedback analysis. Underpinned by rigorous governance, risk controls, and continuous evaluation, our approach prioritises AI, building strong foundations and designing solutions that meet organisational needs whilst keeping residents at the heart of every decision.

We hosted an Innovation Workshops from May – October 2025 which produced various outputs:

Identifying and unlocking AI use cases, specifically around Large Language Models (LLMs)

Pre-populating assessment forms

Making information accessible to residents

Complex end-to-end solutions co-developed for specific use-cases

Best practice tools from these innovations address a range of critical tasks, including automating needs assessments, generating meeting minutes, streamlining case audits, providing instant support through an AI Chatbot, and analysing qualitative survey responses. We have also developed these tools further to improve Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP). Officers told us drafting an EHCP could take 4-8 hours. Two months in, the tool is saving up to an hour per plan – over 200 hours released across 212 plans. With Wigan-specific improvements, we expect this to rise to two hours soon and three hours within the year. This is drastically reducing our waitlist and improving timeliness in this area, allowing our plan writers more time to quality assure their plans.

By actively involving our staff in the development process, Wigan Council and Agilisys Transform have ensured that the AI solutions are tailored to the specific needs of the services. We focused on real benefits with Agilisys Transform and not just quick wins:

Eliminating admin tasks

Summarising reports and extracting insights

Generating project plans instantly

Unlocking new ways of working

Auditing Adult Social Care cases for CQC inspections

Processing survey results 95% quicker

Reformatting content in a fraction of the time

Testing new AI use-cases

Summarising needs assessments for Social Workers

Processing hand-written survey results using optical character recognition (OCR)

Analysing contact centre inbound queries.

These benefits enable better outcomes for Wigan residents, alongside the below objectives:

The workforce are upskilled and tooled effectively to innovate responsibly and identify broader innovation opportunities Resident outcomes are improved by AI-enabled services, delivering personalised care and help at the point of need. Services are AI-enabled by default, with practitioners empowered to co-develop complex technology solutions to tough problems.

What are the key achievements?

Despite AI usage within the council being in the early stages we have begun to see early benefits of adoption. Efficiencies have been generated through the implementation of various tools.

We have also estimated that the council will see other beneficial outcomes such as reduced staff sickness, less need for recruitment, and fewer overtime claims – as a result of reducing the administrative burden on staff. The survey analysis tool has also provided insight into residents’ thoughts which have not been previously possible, in addition to saving a great amount of officer time. More details on the initial impacts and return on investment are planned to follow after the conclusion of the pilot stages.

Through close collaboration with our organisation, Agilisys Transform has gained a deep understanding of the challenges and human elements within social care. This insight has been instrumental in refining technology to enhance – rather than replace – the human touch that is central to the sector. As a result, Agilisys has developed improved tools aligned with these principles, with the potential to benefit the wider local government sector.

Wigan Council’s AI-driven initiatives have delivered measurable, tangible results that exceed expectations and demonstrate sector-leading impact:

Conversation to Assessment (CtA):

o 7,486 assessments completed with 6,434 individuals in the past 12 months.

o Target adoption: 50% of assessments within six months, rising to 75% within 12 months.

o Ethical use embedded: not all assessments are recorded, ensuring appropriateness and safeguarding.

 

EHCP Tool:

 

o Drafting time reduced from 6 hours per plan to saving up to one hour per plan with more time spent focusing on quality assurance of the plan.

 

o 212 plans completed, equating to 200+ hours of capacity released back into the service.

o Anticipated savings: two hours per plan in coming weeks, three hours within the year.

 

Virtual Assistant:

 

o Residents now access 24/7 accurate information, reducing routine calls and freeing staff for complex cases.

 

o Improved website accuracy through rigorous testing and content updates.

 

Note Taker:

 

o Active pilot across Adults, Children’s Services, HR, Legal, and SMT.

 

o Automates minute-taking for safeguarding, supervision, disciplinary, and other critical meetings.

 

o Staff feedback: “I love it. Please don’t take it away.” and “It is transformative to the way we are working.”

 

o Time savings currently being quantified Sector Influence:

 

o Other councils have approached Wigan to learn about Note Taker and compare it to market alternatives.

 

o Sharing ideas across Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to explore regional scalability.

 

The success of Wigan’s transformation projects has been underpinned by strong senior leadership buy-in and a robust governance framework. From the outset, senior leaders have championed these initiatives, providing visible support and consistent messaging that has helped secure buy-in across the organisation.

 

Governance is embedded through the AI Working Group, which meets monthly and brings together colleagues from Digital, Information Governance (IG), Audit, HR, PR, and Data, with guest experts invited as needed.

This group reviews all aspects of AI across the authority, ensuring ethical use, compliance, and alignment with organisational priorities. It works seamlessly alongside the Joint Architecture Group, which assesses technical security, and the IG service, which ensures Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) are completed where necessary.

 

This structured approach ensures that every innovation is well-conceived, planned, and executed professionally, with risk managed and compliance assured throughout the process. As a result, all projects delivered to date have been introduced smoothly and with minimal disruption, enhancing services without compromising continuity or trust.

 

Each transformation tool has been developed in close collaboration with our workforce, reinforcing both quality and sustainability.

How Innovative is your initiative?

We believe we have raised the bar for responsible AI use in local government, implementing several measures to govern the use of AI and manage associated risks. Our AI Working Group, comprising cross-functional members from digital, information governance, and audit teams, meets regularly to inform decisions and processes related to AI. This group oversees all use cases, categorising them as red (prohibited), amber (high risk), or green (low risk) to facilitate effective risk management. Additionally, the group has been instrumental in developing our AI Policy and ensuring compliance with key procedures, including timely completion of Data Protection Impact Assessments. This is a practical blueprint that others can adopt, with further information on our GenAI work here.

To further strengthen governance, the Joint Architecture Group (JAG) conducts technical reviews of solutions before development, ensuring they adhere to “secure by design” principles.

Wigan actively participates in broader policy discussions, serving as the Lead Council for the Co-operative Council Innovation Network and co-developing a value-led AI Guidance Framework. The council has also collaborated with Greater Manchester Combined Authority on their Principles for the Use of Automated Decision-Making Systems. We are confident that our approach to developing AI tools is shaping national guidance. Wigan Council also led the Cooperative Council Innovation Network (CCIN) Policy Lab as the lead authority alongside Mutual Ventures to develop a values led, AI Guidance Framework. Building on this momentum, Wigan Council is now sharing ideas across the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) locality, exploring how successful innovations can be scaled regionally. Plans include co-developing a Freedom of Information (FOI) tool with scalability across the GM region – further positioning Wigan as a leader in sector-wide digital transformation.

We are also hosting an AI Roundtable on 9th January 2026, involving local MPs, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, industry leaders and partners such as Health and Education. A video titled ‘Catalysing AI Growth’ was played at the Roundtable. The Roundtable is a demonstration of place leadership, stimulating AI growth across sectors and has the following aims: Explore Wigan’s AI ambitions and how it complements Greater Manchester’s wider Digital Ambition. Showcase the potential for growing the future the AI economy in Wigan, including our Wigan AI (Apprenticeship) Academy. Celebrate the launch of Agilisys’s Scale Space and its role in stimulating the local digital economy. Consider the transformative potential AI is already demonstrating around public service delivery and health and social care. Engage with local businesses leaders to foster collaboration and unlock new opportunities. Discuss Wigan’s AI Growth Zone (AIGZ) proposal and its potential to accelerate AI infrastructure and innovation ecosystems. Explore plans for a Wigan Data Hub, a centre of excellence in applied data analytics aimed at driving business growth and attracting investment.

As some of our projects are currently in the pilot phase, the program aims to consolidate and embed the adoption of these tools. Through these pilots, staff have identified areas for further improvement, and the council continues to collaborate with Agilisys to implement necessary changes. Further analysis will be conducted to quantify the benefits and impact of AI adoption.

More importantly, productivity gains release frontline staff for relationship-based practice and earlier help, improving outcomes and potentially reducing long-term demand.

Wigan Council has proven that AI in local government can be ethical, human-centred, and transformative. By combining robust governance with bold innovation, we’ve delivered measurable efficiencies while safeguarding trust and amplifying resident voices. Our approach empowers staff, strengthens community outcomes, and creates a replicable model for responsible AI adoption across the sector. This is not just a technology project; it’s a cultural shift that positions Wigan as a national leader in public service transformation raising the bar for transparency, impact, and inclusion.

Wigan empowers staff to innovate and actively invests in their development. A flagship example is Wigan’s AI Academy, delivered through the Multiverse Level 4 Apprenticeship programme, equipping colleagues to identify opportunities, lead projects, and bring innovation into every area of the Council. Currently supporting 30 staff members, the Academy is building a network of AI champions to drive sustainable transformation. Beyond internal development, Wigan has actively listened to resident thoughts and concerns about AI and co-developed solutions with service users, such as live testing of the Virtual Assistant and collaborative design of CtA ensuring technology reflects real needs and improves outcomes.

What are the key learning points?

Wigan and Agilisys Transform delivered focused workshops with staff to explore how AI could improve our processes, improving the customer experience for our residents. These sessions identified time-consuming administrative tasks that hindered direct contact with residents. Wigan partnered with Agilisys Transform to develop, train, and improve solutions. Our workforce has played a pivotal role in shaping this transformation, providing invaluable insights that identified key challenges and practical solutions, ultimately redefining service delivery. From the outset, staff were fully engaged in the process, enabling a strong sense of ownership and enthusiasm for adopting new technologies. As these tools progressed through their initial stages and pilot phases, we have seen a significant reduction in administrative tasks, allowing our staff to devote more time to direct resident care and support for residents.

Wigan’s approach has prioritised early and ongoing engagement throughout the development and adoption of these tools and one of these is the Virtual Assistant in Adults Social Care (ASC). Key engagement activities include: A dedicated champion group of 20 social workers was established to discuss and test the tool’s development. The Adults Social Care team collaborated with Agilisys to define the chatbot’s scope and ensure it could effectively extract information from Wigan’s website and present it to residents in a user-friendly manner. Business support officers and chairs conducted extensive testing to optimise the tool’s performance. Their feedback drove improvements and led to enhancements enabling the tool to produce more detailed minutes that better align with team requirements.

While the Adults Social Care service has a digital front door, it still receives numerous inquiries about information readily available on the council’s website. The Virtual Assistant has been developed and launched to provide advice and guidance in a helpful and intuitive manner, capable of understanding nuanced questions and responding in a human-like way.

The ongoing partnership between the Adults Social Care team and Agilisys has facilitated internal engagement. A naturally engaged audience, recognising the technology’s potential benefits, was essential to the council’s approach. To support staff who may not have been initially engaged, face-to-face and remote sessions were conducted to explain the process, and requirements, and provide necessary support.

Building on this engagement, we piloted Copilot 365 with 50 staff from across services who were keen to explore how AI could support their work. The pilot was highly collaborative, with participants using a shared Teams space to exchange learning, experiences, and best practices throughout. These staff championed Copilot 365, provided feedback on the quality of results, and refined their prompts iteratively – helping shape how AI will be used across the organisation.

We have also developed a Wigan AI Apprenticeship Programme, a 13-month national exemplar for embracing AI and upskilling our workforce. Staff were asked to volunteer to be part of the first cohort, and we have selected a broad range of staff from various professions across our workforce, including Social Workers in Children’s and Adults Services, finance assistants, lawyers and service managers. As part of this qualification, each Apprentice will be responsible for developing an AI product to improve how services are delivered to our residents. 30 staff make up the first cohort from high interest across our workforce wanting to take part. This also creates an internal, cross disciplinary AI talent pipeline which future-proofs this work whilst at the same time is a development opportunity for our workforce. Benefits of the Apprenticeship Programme include our staff being developed and trained to identify and implement AI solutions that streamline admin-heavy processes. Learners work on real projects: automating FOI responses, generating reports, summarising case notes. Furthermore, AI is already available to staff, and this programme manages how they access it and use it in their day-to-day work. Each project directly frees up staff time, unlocking capacity to deliver on our Missions.

Further information on the Apprenticeship Programme can be found here, also here is some direct feedback from one of our Apprentices: “The AI Apprenticeship Programme is already proving really useful and relevant to my role. It’s helping me think differently about challenges within our directorate and giving me practical tools to identify potential AI solutions as I’ve never studied anything business related before.” Careful consideration has been given to engaging residents and obtaining their consent before utilising these technologies. A communications plan has been developed to inform service users about the use of generative AI, and broader communications efforts are underway to prepare for AI rollout.

Additional Comments

Wigan Council proves that AI in local government can be ethical, human-centred, transformative. Combining robust
governance with bold innovation, delivering measurable efficiencies, safeguarding trust and amplifying resident voice. Our
approach empowers staff, strengthens community outcomes, creates a replicable model for responsible AI adoption across
the sector. This is not just a technology project; it’s a cultural shift that positions Wigan as a leader in public service
transformation.