10 Ways Councils Are Using AI to Transform Public Services
Councils are increasingly adopting AI-based solutions to improve services. LocalGov Assistant editor Izzy Lepone has collected 10 innovative case studies.
Reform-led council calls for over £100m in savings
06/08/2025 Lancashire County Council needs to save over £100m to ensure financial stability, officers have cautioned. |
Reform UK council leader risks contempt of court
05/08/2025 Warwickshire council leader George Finch risks facing prosecution for contempt of court after discussing an alleged rape at a Reform UK press conference. |
Wiltshire Council votes to retain carbon targets
25/07/2025 Wiltshire Council has rejected a motion to ditch the local authority’s carbon reduction targets. |
LGA hits back at Reform UK critics
24/07/2025 The Local Government Association (LGA) has insisted it is ‘more important than ever the sector has a strong single voice’ after criticism from Reform UK figures. |
Country’s youngest council leader appointed
23/07/2025 A Reform UK councillor has been confirmed as the country’s youngest permanent council leader. |
Reform candidate takes legal action after losing dead heat election
22/07/2025 Reform UK candidate Liz Williams has filed a petition to the High Court claiming her loss in May's dead heat election in Worcestershire County Council’s Littletons division was fraudulent. |
Farage says Reform 'facing obstructionism'
21/07/2025 Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has accused some council officials of obstructing the work of his councillors. |
Yusuf rules out council tax cuts at Reform-led local authorities
21/07/2025 The head of Reform UK’s Doge unit Zia Yusuf has said local authorities the party controls will not be able to reduce council tax, contradicting earlier claims of potential cuts by its local leaders. |
Reform council agrees Doge data sharing mechanism
18/07/2025 West Northamptonshire Council has become the first council to approve a mechanism for sharing sensitive information with Reform UK’s cost-cutting unit. |
Councils push back against Reform’s Doge unit
15/07/2025 Several local authorities have reportedly pushed back against efforts by Reform UK’s Elon Musk-style ‘Doge’ unit to access sensitive data. |
Farage: ‘Virtue-signalling’ climate targets must go
15/07/2025 Nigel Farage has ordered Reform UK council leaders to give up on what he calls ‘virtue-signalling’ net zero targets. |
Reform's Kent finds 'millions of pounds' of savings
11/07/2025 Kent CC's Department for Local Government Efficiency (DOLGE) has identified ‘millions of pounds worth of potential savings', leader Linden Kemkaran claims. |
Devo Bill to reintroduce supplementary vote in blow to Reform
10/07/2025 The supplementary vote system will be reintroduced to elect mayors in a move that is expected to reduce the chances of success for Reform UK. |
Reform-controlled county agrees to back two unitary model
10/07/2025 Reform-controlled Derbyshire CC has agreed to back a two unitary model with a north south configuration. |
Farage: Council’s home to school transport spend ‘beyond belief’
08/07/2025 Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has described Kent County Council's spending on home to school transport as ‘beyond belief’. |
Reform UK: Data concerns about DOGE unit ‘laughable’
02/07/2025 Concerns about Reform UK’s DOGE-inspired unit’s approach to data sharing is ‘laughable’, says Reform UK’s director of local government. |
Chief executive defies leader's flag order
01/07/2025 Warwickshire CC's chief executive has refused a request from the 18-year-old Reform UK leader of her council to remove a Pride flag from County Hall. |
Teenage Reform leader says he should be judged on his record
30/06/2025 Eighteen-year-old Reform UK council leader assures residents his ‘track record is pretty good.’ |
Reform UK’s ‘Doge’ witch-hunts will achieve little
27/06/2025 With council workers under threat, Mike Short, head of local government at UNISON, questions the value of Nigel Farage's unwanted audits |
Legal warning over Reform's pension plans
26/06/2025 A legal expert has warned Reform UK councils will not be able to slash local authority pensions. |
Reform council leader resigns leaving teenager in charge
26/06/2025 A Reform UK councillor has stepped down from his role as Warwickshire County Council leader due to health challenges, leaving 18-year-old deputy in charge. |
Lancashire councils urged to collaborate
23/06/2025 The Government has urged Lancashire's 15 main councils to work together to agree a plan for local government reorganisation. |
Union gains influx of members from Reform-run councils
20/06/2025 Membership rates for Unison trade union have increased by 205% across Reform-run councils. |
Reform county seeks referendum on mayor
20/06/2025 Lancashire has approached the Government to ask for a referendum on adopting a mayor. |
Reform UK-led council to undertake ‘efficiency review’
16/06/2025 Nottinghamshire County Council, which is led by Reform UK, is set to carry out an ‘efficiency review’ in an attempt to find savings. |
Reform councils try to get ahead of DOGE reviews
12/06/2025 Two Reform-led councils have started DOGE-style efficiency reviews ahead of a visit from the party's national team tasked with scrutinising finances. |
Yusuf returns to Reform UK to lead DOGE team
09/06/2025 Former chairman of Reform UK, Zia Yusuf, has announced he is returning to the party to run its DOGE team shortly after quitting. |
Head of Reform UK’s DOGE-style team quits
06/06/2025 The head of Reform UK’s team tasked with scrutinising council finances has stepped down alongside the party’s chairman, Zia Yusuf. |
Reform UK launches DOGE teams to investigate council finances
02/06/2025 A new DOGE-style team of auditors, led by a UK ‘tech entrepreneur’, will be tasked with reviewing the finances of Reform UK-controlled councils, party chair Zia Yusuf has announced. |
Reform UK: What Britain’s fastest rising party stands for
29/05/2025 Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is gaining greater political influence and visibility in local government. But what does the party stand for? |
Is immigration making the UK an ‘island of strangers’?
28/05/2025 LocalGov editor William Eichler spoke to Belong CEO Kelly Fowler to discuss immigration, social cohesion, and whether the UK was an ‘island of strangers’. |
Farage declares the two-child benefit cap must end
28/05/2025 Nigel Farage has announced his intentions to abandon the two-child benefit cap, resulting in over £3bn of new spending. |
Legal threats to Reform ambitions
21/05/2025 Reform UK's ambitions to shake up local government could be stymied by legal hurdles, an expert warned this week. |
