Tag: welfare

Fears ‘thousands will suffer’ as all Leeds children centres under ‘review’ by cash-strapped council – Leeds Live

In a cost-cutting initiative by Leeds City Council, the local authority is aiming to save £106.4million in its budget over the 2025/26 financial term in a bid to a support the rising costs of social care services. As part of the iniative, the council is reviewing whether the city’s children’s centres run by schools should instead be operated directly by the local authority. A decision has not yet been made on closures or whether any redundancies will be necessary.

children, funding, Leeds, welfare

28/01/2025
AI prototypes for UK welfare system dropped as officials lament ‘false starts’ – The Guardian

Pilots of AI technology to enhance staff training, improve the service in jobcentres, speed up disability benefit payments and modernise communication systems are not being taken forward, freedom of information (FoI) requests reveal. Officials have internally admitted that ensuring AI systems are “scalable, reliable [and] thoroughly tested” are key challenges and say there have been many “frustrations and false starts”.

AI, computing, welfare

27/01/2025