THIS WEEK’S RADAR🎯

• BBC News: Stoke-on-Trent boosts EHCP timeliness from 43% to 83% using AI tool: Agilisys EHCP — a game-changing leap in service delivery.

• £21bn needed to digitise NHS and social care, with emphasis on sustained investment and workforce training.

• Wandsworth Council commits £9m to community upgrades, including playgrounds, CCTV, and youth employment.

• IPSEA calls for urgent reform in SEND delivery, highlighting failures in law implementation and oversight.

• Agilisys renews and expands Sefton Council partnership, focusing on cloud-first strategy and GenAI innovation.

Some Absolutely Fantastic News out of Stoke City Council! ​

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is leading the way with an innovative use of AI to transform how Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) are produced – and the results are fantastic.​

​Faced with growing demand, the council had struggled to meet the national target of issuing 60% of EHCPs within 20 weeks – hitting just 43% in 2023–24. But thanks to a new AI tool that helps case workers quickly extract and structure information from reports, that figure has now jumped to 83% in April 2024.​

This is the future of EHCP Drafting – get your council involved now. ​

Learn more about Agilisys’s EHCP Drafting tool here. ​ Be sure to reach out to grab one of the last free trial spots!

HEALTHCARE MODERNISATION

Research Estimates £21 Billion Needed To Digitise UK NHS And Social Care

Digitising NHS and adult social care will require an estimated £21bn over five years, with £14.75bn designated for England, covering areas such as electronic patient records, cloud infrastructure, cyber security, and essential staff training. The Health Foundation stresses that funding must support ongoing implementation rather than just technology purchases, to ensure genuine improvement in care quality, efficiency, and staff experience. Clarity on full costs and sustained revenue investment are necessary to achieve digital healthcare transformation and meet future demand.

COMMUNITY INVESTMENT

Wandsworth Council Invests £9 Million In Borough-Wide Community And Safety Upgrades

Wandsworth Council will deploy £9 million from developer levies to address residents' priorities, including upgrading 14 playgrounds, enhancing community safety through new CCTV systems, and boosting youth employment with charity-led social enterprises. Funding allocation was shaped by extensive public consultation, ensuring local needs drive each improvement. Immediate and targeted infrastructure upgrades will visibly impact daily life.

EDUCATION POLICY

SEND Success Depends On Implementation, Accountability, And Adequate Support For Families

IPSEA asserts that England’s SEND crisis stems not from inadequate legislation, but from the chronic failure to implement existing law and a lack of accountability at the local authority level. The charity urges MPs to mandate statutory SEN support, enhance Ofsted and Ombudsman oversight, and ensure fair provision without forcing families into legal battles. Without systemic change and reliable resources, vulnerable children remain at risk.

Some Exciting News in Local Government Technology Services! 🎉​

Agilisys are thrilled to be continuing their partnership with Sefton Council with a renewed and expanded ICT Managed Services partnership! ​

Over nearly a decade, Agilisys has worked with Sefton Council has matured in step with their ambitions - from core IT delivery to a forward-looking approach centred on data, automation, and cloud-enabled transformation.​

The next chapter of the Agilisys and Sefton partnership will focus on:​

• ✅ Supporting Sefton’s Cloud First strategy​

• ✅ Modernising infrastructure with Zero Trust principles​

• ✅ Exploring the power of GenAI, automation, and data to transform services​

Massive congratulations to the Agilisys and Sefton Council team for the great work ​

Read Agilisys’s thoughts here

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