Telford and Wrekin Council is planning to spend £12.5 million in implementing a new digital strategy over the next three years.
It has announced the plan in advance of it going before the authority’s cabinet later this week, saying the investment will build on previous successes, and highlighting ambitions including increasing the use of virtual care and assistive technology, supporting local efforts to build digital skills, and exploring new technologies for its operations.
Details of the strategy – titled Telford Connected – include adding generative AI to its Ask Tom digital assistant that was launched in July of this year. This will enable it to draw on a wider range of information and generate bespoke responses to queries.
In social care, the council is working with local partners to develop a Single Health Resilience Early Warning System (SHREWD) to show the operational situation of urgent health and care systems; and investigating the responsible use of AI in the sector.
Other plans include expanding gigabit connectivity for residents and businesses under a 10-year contract with Virgin Media 02, improving its public Wi-fi service, replacing the current telephony system with one based on Microsoft Teams, deploying Windows 11, stepping up the use of CoPilot and taking a risk based approach to the use of AI in building a digital council.
Maximise potential
Cllr Zona Hannington, Telford and Wrekin’s cabinet member for finance, governance and customer services, said: “Our customers, who are made up of residents and stakeholders in the borough, are at the heart of everything we do, and we want to make sure that we maximise the potential of digital technology in how we communicate and interact with our residents, customers and partner organisations through providing the right digital environment within communities.
“The new strategy highlights the initial actions planned, our progress made since the last digital strategy 2021 to 2023 and our aims through to the end of 2026-27.
“Ultimately, this strategy will help us create a better borough through digital innovation, allowing us to continue to maximise the potential of digital technology in how we communicate and interact with our residents, customers and partners, at the same time as ensuring that people who are not digitally engaged are not left behind.”
