News Summary

• Artificial intelligence has gone from boardroom buzzword to a budget line item in UK local government.
• Prime Minister has suggested that AI adoption could save the UK economy £45 billion annually.
• Public sector AI contract spending hit a record £1.17 billion in 2025 according to Tussell.
• For councils, the stakes are particularly acute.
• For every pound spent on technology that ends up underdelivering, a pound spent.
• on housing, social care, or frontline services is lost.
• Local authorities that get this part right will be those that start with the problem rather than the product.