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Derby City Council’s AI Transformation Recognised on ITV — The Blueprint Behind the Results

  • ICS AI
  • 6 days ago
  • 3 min read

At a Glance


  • Derby City Council’s AI transformation has been featured on ITV News, with national coverage exploring how the council is using artificial intelligence at scale to support services under sustained pressure.

  • The council has stated this approach has delivered £12 million in impact, while improving access, safeguarding human interaction and avoiding the need to recruit into vacant roles.

  • The coverage highlights how Derby has moved beyond pilots to embed AI into day-to-day operations.

  • The blueprint for AI Transformation – and how organisations can move from strategy to value – is set out in ICS.AI’s latest whitepaper - Local Government AI Transformation: From Strategy to Value



ITV News coverage exploring how Derby City Council is using AI to support services, alongside the realities and safeguards of operating AI at scale.


AI in Practice at Derby City Council


The ITV segment highlights how Derby has moved beyond small pilots to embed AI into day-to-day operations - including handling high-volume, routine enquiries through digital assistants (Darcie and Ali), while ensuring residents are quickly passed through to human colleagues when judgement, care or support is needed.


ITV reported that the council has said this approach has delivered significant financial savings, cited at as least £12 million, largely by managing demand and avoiding the need to recruit into vacant roles, alongside service availability improvements and safeguards. Council leaders were clear that the focus is on improving how services are delivered, while ensuring limited resources are used where they add the most value.


The report also noted previous statements from the council that the use of AI had played a role in stabilising finances at a time when the authority was under severe financial pressure.


Managing Demand While Keeping People in the Loop


The coverage did not shy away from challenges. It acknowledged that some residents -  particularly older people or those with strong regional accents - can find digital systems frustrating, and that AI is not suitable for every interaction. As with any large-scale change to public services, the report reflects the realities of technology adoption alongside the benefits.


However, the report also highlighted safeguards built into the system, including support for multiple languages and the ability to detect when callers may be distressed, vulnerable or frustrated, and automatically pass them through to a human colleague.


“Because Darcie is very intelligent, it can detect if someone is vulnerable, distressed or frustrated, and will pass them straight through to a human colleague,” said Andy Brammall from Derby City Council. “It deals with the things it can handle well, and brings people in where it matters most.”

A Balanced View of AI at Scale


Taken together, the coverage offers a balanced view of AI in local government - not as a silver bullet, but as a practical capability that works best when embedded into a wider operating model with clear guardrails and human oversight.


As councils across the country grapple with rising demand and constrained budgets, Derby’s experience shows both the potential - and the responsibility - that comes with deploying AI in public services, focusing not just on efficiency, but on access, inclusion and service quality.


Why This Matters Beyond the Technology


What the ITV coverage illustrates is that results like these don’t come from technology alone. Deploying AI at scale in public services requires a clear operating model: defined guardrails, human oversight, and a focus on outcomes rather than experimentation.


At ICS.AI, this is the approach we see working consistently across local government - using AI to manage demand and routine activity, while embedding escalation, accountability and governance by design. When AI is implemented as part of the organisation’s operating model, rather than as a standalone tool, it becomes possible to deliver measurable value while maintaining trust with residents and staff.


Derby’s experience shows how a structured, outcome-led approach to AI can move beyond pilots and into everyday operations - generating real financial impact, improving access, and keeping people firmly in the loop.


Beyond the headlines


As councils across the UK grapple with rising demand, constrained budgets and growing expectations, Derby’s experience shows what becomes possible when AI is treated not as a standalone tool, but as part of a joined-up transformation programme.


For organisations looking to understand how this kind of impact is achieved in practice, ICS.AI’s newly released white paper sets out the strategy-to-value approach behind successful AI transformation. It explains how councils can move beyond pilots by embedding AI across the front door, workforce and back office - with clear governance, human oversight and outcome focus built in from the start.


The ITV coverage offers a snapshot of what’s possible. The white paper sets out the blueprint.


Further Resources


  • Whitepaper: Local Government AI Transformation: From Strategy to Value



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