A new AI tool will be used to analyse consultation responses, as part of a wider plan to integrate AI to increase efficiency across government, it has announced.
The tool, called Consult, will analyse responses and present policy makers with interactive dashboards to explore them. Currently, this process is done by consultants who can ‘take months’ to consolidate responses and cost around £100,000.
The technology is currently being tested on previous consultations and hopes to speed up decision making.
Healthcare Leader has asked the Department for Science, Technology and Innovation if this tool will be used for the Department of Health and Social Care’s 10-year plan for health consultation.
Consult will be introduced as part of a package of government-built AI tools for its departments to use, which will be known as ‘Humphrey’, named after a fictional Whitehall official in BBC drama Yes, Minister.
Other tools will include:
- Parlex: to help search through debates from the Houses of Parliament,
- Minute: a transcription service for meetings which produces customisable summaries and is already being used by central departments and being trialled by local councils,
- Redbox: a generative AI tool to help civil servants with day-to-day tasks, like summarising policy and preparing briefings,
- Lex: to help officials research the law by providing analysis and summarisation of relevant laws for specific, complex issues.
The changes will also see the government overhaul how it delivers digital services, including looking at how public sector organisations can negotiate contracts together to save money.
The government also announced that a team will look at services offered to people with long term health conditions and disabilities, who often interact with multiple services. It said that solutions would be developed so that people can access the right services at the right time.
A digital and AI roadmap is also due to be published in the summer.
Science secretary Peter Kyle said: ‘Sluggish technology has hampered our public services for too long, and it’s costing us all a fortune in time and money. Not to mention the headaches and stresses we’re left with after being put on hold or forced to take a trip to fill out a form.
‘My department will put AI to work, speeding up our ability to deliver our Plan for Change, improve lives and drive growth. We will use technology to bear down hard to the nonsensical approach the public sector takes to sharing information and working together to help the people it serves.’
Health secretary Wes Streeting added: ‘We are bringing our analogue NHS into the digital age. Our Plan for Change will rebuild our NHS, put patients in control of their own healthcare and arm staff with the latest groundbreaking technology, ending the needless bureaucracy faced by patients up and down the country.
‘We’ve already set out plans to transform the NHS App so patients can choose providers and book appointments, and we’re harnessing artificial intelligence to deliver faster and smarter care across the country.
‘By embracing technological advancements, we can both make substantial savings for the taxpayer and build a health service fit for the 21st Century.’
Last week, the government set out a new AI action plan to help the public sector spend less time on admin and more time delivering services.
In December, Mr Streeting said the shift from analogue to digital is the one thing that will make a ‘demonstrable improvement’ to the NHS.
