{"id":108946,"date":"2025-05-14T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=108946"},"modified":"2025-05-14T09:36:33","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T08:36:33","slug":"uk-government-deploys-breakthrough-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/uk-government-deploys-breakthrough-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Government Deploys Breakthrough Tool for Rapid Consultation Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The UK government is preparing to deploy a new artificial intelligence tool across its departments to streamline the public consultation process. The tool, known as Consult<\/em><\/strong>, was first used by the Scottish Government to evaluate feedback on the regulation of non-surgical cosmetic procedures, including lip fillers and laser hair removal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developed as part of a broader AI package named Humphrey<\/em><\/strong>, Consult is designed to process responses to public consultations up to 1,000 times faster than human analysts, reducing reliance on external contractors and cutting an estimated 75,000 staff hours per year, according to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Live Trial Produced Near-Identical Results to Human Analysis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The inaugural use of Consult took place during a consultation led by the Scottish Government, examining how to regulate a growing market in cosmetic treatments. More than 2,000 responses<\/strong> were received. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to official sources<\/a>, Consult was able to identify key themes across six open-ended questions, which were then verified and refined by human reviewers. The trial revealed a high level of accuracy, with the tool achieving an F1 score of 0.76<\/strong>, a benchmark commonly used to measure AI performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this instance, officials concluded that Consult\u2019s thematic categorisation aligned closely with human analysts, allowing civil servants to spend more time interpreting and applying feedback, rather than manually sorting it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUsing the tool was very beneficial in helping the Scottish Government understand more quickly what people wanted us to hear and our respondents\u2019 range of views.\u201d said Jenni Minto<\/a><\/strong>, Scotland\u2019s Public Health Minister, adding that the tool \u201csupported us to undertake the analysis that will inform our next steps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the government, the tool \u201csaved a heck of a lot of time\u201d during the process and was perceived to improve consistency by reducing subjective bias introduced by individual analysts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potential Savings of \u00a320 Million and Plans for Wider Adoption<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The UK government conducts around 500 consultations<\/strong> each year, often relying on expensive contractors for response analysis. According to the Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, deploying Consult across departments could lead to \u201cmillions\u201d in savings for taxpayers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one should be wasting time on something AI can do quicker and better,\u201d said Mr Kyle. He added that the tool would help civil servants focus on policy, not paperwork, and described the Scottish Government\u2019s trial as a \u201cbold first step<\/strong>\u201d towards a more efficient public sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Consult remains in a trial phase<\/strong>, its successful early use has prompted plans for expansion. The tool will remain under expert oversight, with civil servants reviewing themes and classifications via a dedicated interactive dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A full rollout is anticipated by the end of 2025, pending further evaluations to ensure performance standards are maintained.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The UK government is rolling out a new AI tool designed to accelerate public consultation analysis. Set to save millions in taxpayer money, this tool promises to cut consultation costs by automating the review process. Aimed at improving efficiency and accuracy, it has already shown promising results in pilot phases. The tool could soon be deployed across government departments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":108949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108946"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108950,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108946\/revisions\/108950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}