Redcar and Cleveland Council pledges £150k on AI tool

Redcar and Cleveland Council described how the money spent on a two year subscription to ‘Magic Notes’ – £60,000 in year one and £90,000 in year two – could be “transformational” in the way services were delivered.

A spending decision report said it would save staff time and also improve the timeliness and accuracy of data entry inputted into systems operating in the two directorates.

It said: “The belief is this revenue expenditure will be transformational to the services delivered in adult and children’s [care].”

It also said: “It may be that in the long term the use of Magic Notes could generate cash savings, but this will not be known until its use is [fully] embedded.”

Magic Notes is an AI-powered meeting summarisation tool designed for social workers which records, transcribes and summarises meetings, generating detailed write ups.

The delegated decision report, which was recently signed off by the council’s cabinet, said these were suited to the likes of care and rehousing assessments.

It said: “By automating transcription and note taking, Magic Notes reduces documentation time, while ensuring a high accuracy rate.

“This initiative directly addresses operational challenges in social care, enhancing efficiency and allowing social workers to focus more on client interactions and core responsibilities.”

The Local Democracy Reporting Service previously reported on a pilot scheme of the AI tool which took place last year – a business case subsequently being approved in September for a subscription to be taken out with the company supplier Beam Up

The council report said Magic Notes resulted in a 42% reduction in time spent on assessment and meeting write ups with an enhanced quality of detail also being captured.

An average of eight hours per week per practitioner had also been saved.

The pilot results said there had been “100% satisfaction” from the testing group who also rated the tool highly for ease of use.

The time saved had led to “more present and engaged” conversations between staff and service users, and their carers.

The report explained: “The subscription model provides flexible and unlimited staff access and customised template design, flexibility in use of bundled hours, a hosted platform, dedicated delivery management and unlimited onboarding and tailored training.”

It also said Magic Notes would support aspects of a children’s social care national framework released as statutory guidance from the Department for Education, helping the workforce to be suitably equipped and effective.

The guidance also stated that leaders “identify and remove unnecessary bureaucracy, including with the help of technology and administrative support”.

Meanwhile, the Department for Health and Social Care is encouraging councils to deliver greater digital transformation with a current white paper, People at the Heart of Care, setting out a vision along these lines for adult social care.

It has been estimated adopting AI tools could save cash strapped councils in England and Wales £8bn a year, although, as with many other sectors, it could also negatively impact jobs.

Last month members of Redcar and Cleveland Council’s resources scrutiny committee were given a demonstration on the use of AI, specifically a customer service ‘chat bot’ which is being introduced online, 

Answering questions from councillors, John Bulman, an assistant director of strategy in IT and digital, said there was a decision to be made in the future over whether digital along with AI was used to “cut or invest”, but the current aim was to free up time for council officers to carry out “more value added work”.