County Spotlight: Technology and Digital
This County Spotlight publication shines a light on the innovative technology and digital work from county councils and unitary councils - including AI.
This edition of the County Spotlight highlights how County Councils Network (CCN) member councils are harnessing digital technology, data and artificial intelligence (AI) to transform public services, improve productivity and support local economic growth.
Councils are major drivers of digital innovation—spending £5bn annually— yet our report warns that progress is uneven due to variations in funding and digital capacity across the country.
The report showcases recent best practice across 16 case studies, and explores national policy developments.
We undertook a survey of our members on their AI usage, which found that:
- 85% of CCN councils already use AI, with the remainder actively exploring adoption. AI deployment is most common in administration (77%), adult social care (70%), and children’s services (54%).
- Councils report AI delivers productivity gains (93%), service improvements (77%), and better data/analytics (54%)
- In terms of drawbacks, 93% of councils cited ethical considerations and 71% said a lack of workforce to roll out AI more widely was a negative.
- Over half – 57% said that the potential for disinformation was a drawback.
Recommendations set out in the report include:
- Government should resource councils adequately to scale AI, digital services and data capacity.
- National policy must address training, workforce shortages and ethical governance.
- Funding reforms should prevent a widening digital divide between well‑resourced and underfunded county areas.
- Support wider adoption of proven assistive and smart technologies, particularly in social care and transport.