Stoke-on-Trent council explores AI to speed up EHCPs
Artifical intelligence (AI) is being used by a council in a bid to cut lengthy waiting times for children's special needs reports.Stoke-on-Trent City Council produces hundreds of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) each year and has been struggling to issue them on time because of increased demand, but delays can leave families waiting for extra support.In 2023-24, 43% of the council's EHCPs were completed within 20 weeks, compared with a national target of 60%.Members of a scrutiny committee were told AI tools had been trained to extract information from documents such as psychological reports and write it into a plan - completing the task faster than a human.
Delyth Mathieson, assistant director of education and family support, said each young person received a range of different reports and until now, individual case workers pulled elements together.She said: "What we're looking at is a process whereby we can upload those reports, securely obviously, so that the information is collated and dropped into the format automatically and intelligently."The process still involved a case worker who knows the children, she told the children and family services overview and scrutiny committee.That case worker went through each individual report to check for any misunderstandings by the AI, she added.Ms Mathieson said the approach also freed up case workers to "focus on the quality of that report, rather than a cut-and-paste exercise".Committee member Laura Carter, welcomed the move, adding: "If we have the option of bringing in technology, then why not use it?"The council said it had cleared its backlog and provisional figures for April showed 83% of EHCPs were issued within 20 weeks.The authority has also recruited more educational psychologists, changed how applications are processed, and increased early intervention to reduce demand.
This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.
Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Britain to allocate $116 billion to R&D in spending plan
LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves will allocate 86 billion pounds ($116 billion) in this week's spending review to fund research and development, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said on Sunday. It said the package, funding everything from new drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries to artificial intelligence breakthroughs, would be worth over 22.5 billion pounds a year by 2029/30, driving new jobs and economic growth. Reeves will divide more than 2 trillion pounds ($2.7 trillion) of public money between her ministerial colleagues on Wednesday, making choices that will define what the year-old Labour government can achieve in the next four years. The DSIT said the announcement on R&D follows Reeves' commitment last week to 15.6 billion pounds of government investment in local transport in city regions in the Northern England, Midlands and the South West. ($1 = 0.7398 pounds)
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Rachel Reeves to announce £86bn for science and technology in spending review
Research into drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries will receive new funding as part of an £86 billion package for science and technology set to be announced in next week's spending review. Regions will be handed up to £500 million with local leaders given powers to decide how investment is targeted in their communities, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said. The overall package, which will be announced as Chancellor Rachel Reeves sets out departmental spending plans on June 11, is expected to be worth more than £22.5 billion-a-year by the end of the decade. DSIT said 'every corner of the country' would benefit as local leaders are given a say on how the money is spent on leveraging expertise specific to their communities. In Liverpool, which has a long history in biotech, funding will be used to speed up drug discovery and in South Wales, which has Britain's largest semiconductor cluster, on designing the microchips used to power mobile phones and electric cars. The Chancellor said: 'Britain is the home of science and technology. Through the Plan for Change, we are investing in Britain's renewal to create jobs, protect our security against foreign threats and make working families better off.' Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: 'Incredible and ambitious research goes on in every corner of our country, from Liverpool to Inverness, Swansea to Belfast, which is why empowering regions to harness local expertise and skills for all of our benefit is at the heart of this new funding – helping to deliver the economic growth at the centre of our Plan for Change.' Local leaders including North East Mayor Kim McGuiness and West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker welcomed the package, but research backers warned more is needed to secure Britain's reputation for Rottingen, chief executive of Wellcome, Britain's biggest non-governmental research funder, said: 'The Government rightly acknowledges that investing in science and technology is a key way to boost the economy. 'But while it's positive under the financial circumstances, a flat real-terms science budget, along with continuing barriers such as high visa costs for talented scientists and the university funding crisis, won't be enough for the UK to make the advances it needs to secure its reputation for science in an increasingly competitive world. 'The UK should be aiming to lead the G7 in research intensity, to bring about economic growth and the advances in health, science and technology that benefit us all. We look forward to seeing the full details at the spending review.' Meanwhile, the Institute of Physics called for a longer-term strategy for science, including a plan for teachers and other members of the skilled workforce needed to deliver advances. Tony McBride, director of policy and public affairs at the institute, said: 'It's good to see the Government recognise the power of science and innovation to transform lives and grow prosperity in every part of the UK. 'But to fully harness the transformational potential of research and innovation – wherever it takes place – we need a decade-long strategic plan for science. This must include a plan for the skilled workforce we need to deliver this vision, starting with teachers and addressing every educational stage, to underpin the industrial strategy. 'We hope that the Chancellor's statement on Wednesday will set out such a vision.' Universities UK said the Government had made a 'smart investment' and academia would put its 'shoulder to the wheel' behind the plans. Vivienne Stern, chief executive of the group representing 142 higher education providers in Britain, said: 'The UK has a real opportunity to sow the seeds of long-term growth, benefiting all parts of the UK – with universities spread right across the country working with industry and public sector bodies to turn discoveries into economic success. 'They stand ready to double down with government, building stronger links with sectors of the economy where we have real room to grow. 'This creates good jobs and attracts investment everywhere from Swansea to Aberdeen, from Barrow to Plymouth.'
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME: Forgotten fund turning gems into £100m moneymaker
After more than 11 years, Guinness European Equity Income is emerging from the shadows. Having been left to lie fallow as a result of the success of its sister fund Guinness Global Equity Income, it is beginning to gain some traction with investors and wealth managers. The fund, valued at a meagre £8 million a year ago, has now broken through £50 million. And co-fund manager Will James is confident it won't be long before it gets to £100million – maybe by the end of this year, but more likely within the next 12 months. To put these numbers into perspective, Global Equity Income, launched three years before European Equity Income, now has £4.9 billion of assets under its wing. 'The fund has momentum,' insists James. 'It's six times bigger than it was a year ago and it's in growth mode. It's rather encouraging.' James, who joined Nicholas Edwards on the fund in early 2024, believes one of the key drivers has been an improvement in the wider investment case for Europe. He says: 'As an investment proposition, Europe struggled to compete with US exceptionalism for many years. The result was that most investors' portfolios were underweight in Europe. 'But that US exceptionalism has now unwound, resulting in the appeal of dividend-friendly European companies being brought to a wider investor audience.' The fund's focus is on identifying European companies that are undervalued but which have strong balance sheets and cash flows largely impervious to the state of the economic backdrop. It side-steps businesses which have lots of debt. All these demands reduce an investible universe from 1,400 down to 200. Like other Guinness funds, European Equity Income then builds its portfolio around just 30 stocks, with holdings having broadly equal weightings. If a new company is brought into the fund, one has to be pushed out. The fund's exposure is determined by the companies it buys, not a view on the relative attractiveness of individual markets. This year, stakes in two businesses have been sold: Swiss-Swedish electrical engineering giant ABB and Finnish IT software company Tietoevry. They were replaced by energy technical specialist SPIE and Dutch-based BE Semiconductor Industries. James says: 'SPIE is generating an attractive dividend, and its work is essential in improving Europe's electrical infrastructure. 'BE Semiconductor Industries is a specialist in hybrid bonding, a process which enables semiconductors to be built that are more powerful and efficient than ever before.' Fund changes are infrequent – two holdings were sold last year, three the year before. Eight stocks have been in the fund from the word go, including Finnish industrial company Konecranes, Norwegian fish farm specialist Salmar, London-listed Unilever and French consumer staples business Danone. The fund's performance numbers stack up. Over the past one, three and five years it has outperformed the average for its peer group. Over five years, returns of 71 per cent compare with 56 per cent for the average European fund. Income is paid twice yearly and it has been in growth mode since 2020. An annual dividend last year of £6.21 a share compares with £3.13 in 2020. Later this month James and Edwards will meet financial experts in Bournemouth, Bristol and Leicester – all part of a mission to get the fund to £100 million. Annual fund charges are reasonable at 0.89 per cent and the annual dividend is around 3.6 per cent.
