SUCCESS STORY / LICHFIELD DISTRICT COUNCIL
Answering 40,000+ Resident Questions with AI-powered Self-service
How Lichfield District Council is using back-office automation to streamline service delivery, reduce administrative workloads, and free up staff time, alongside digital self-service and AI-powered search that make services easier for residents to access.
KEY OBJECTIVES & OUTCOMES
1.
86% Automated Council Tax Support changes processed automatically
2.
28-30,000 Universal Credit notifications processed annually without manual intervention
3.
97% Answer Rate with specific, contextual responses (not generic lists of links)
Brief
Lichfield District Council wanted to make services easier for residents to use and reduce pressure on already stretched teams. It focused on three key challenges:
-
Inconsistent online forms: Teams had created more than 230 forms independently, with different styles and outcomes. Many were hard to find on the website, so residents often called instead.
-
Growing manual workloads: Every Council Tax Support notification needed a manual review. Rising volumes put pressure on staff and made it harder to keep up with demand.
-
Unreliable website search: As more services moved online, the search function struggled to find and display relevant content. Residents turned to the phone, even when the information they needed was already on the website.
About Lichfield District Council
- Services more than 106,000 people across Staffordshire
- 45,630 council tax properties
- 24% of residents are aged 65+
- Added nearly 5,800 residents over the last decade
We want residents to be able to find the information they need as quickly and easily as possible. AI-powered search gives people another way to access relevant information online, while helping us understand what residents are looking for and where we can continue to improve. The more routine queries people can resolve themselves, the more time our teams can focus on those who need additional support.
Simon Fletcher, Chief Executive
Solution
Automated Revenues & Benefits processing
As part of its wider transformation programme, Lichfield District Council focused on increasing automation within its Revenues and Benefits service to reduce manual processing, improve efficiency and help staff focus on residents who need additional support.
Using our Revenues and Benefits automation, the council redesigned its Council Tax Support scheme as a banded discount model, creating opportunities to automate processes that had previously required significant officer intervention. Drawing on daily data from the Department for Work and Pensions, the system can automatically calculate the appropriate discount band, update claimant accounts and maintain a full audit trail. As a result, most routine changes can now be processed without manual input.
The council has also reshaped its teams and working practices around this automation-first approach. This enables the same-sized team to manage significantly higher case volumes while applying their expertise to more complex cases that require human judgement, investigation or additional resident support.
Creating a consistent digital front door
Alongside back-office transformation, Lichfield District Council has modernised the way residents access information and services online.
As part of a wider digital transformation programme, the council redesigned its website and standardised its approach to online forms using our accessible Content Management System (Jadu Central). This replaced around 230 independently developed forms with a more consistent, user-friendly approach across services, improving accessibility, usability and the overall resident experience.
Rather than being a technology replacement project, the initiative formed part of a broader effort to redesign services around how residents interact with the council, making it easier and quicker to complete tasks online.
To further enhance self-service, the council introduced AI-powered search (Agent:Ex Search), enabling residents to receive direct, contextual answers to their questions instead of navigating through lists of webpages and links. This provides an additional route for residents to find information quickly, while helping the council respond to changing levels of demand without creating queues or delays.
The search platform also generates valuable insight into resident behaviour, helping the council identify what people are searching for, where content gaps exist and which areas of the website may require improvement. This evidence-based approach allows the digital team to continually refine the online experience based on real user needs.
By redesigning our processes and making greater use of automation, we’re able to manage significantly higher volumes with the same-sized team. Routine work can be processed more efficiently, which means our experts can spend their time where they add the most value – on cases that need human judgement and specialist knowledge.
Nicola Begley, Service Manager – Revenues, Benefits and Corporate Debt Recovery
Results
86% Processed automatically
Council Tax Support changes processed automatically with same-day turnaround – the latest release is targeting automation rates above 90%
28-30,000 UC notifications
handled without manual reassessment each year – which would have required additional headcount otherwise
40,000+ Questions answered
in nine months – answered with no phone call, no email and no queue
97% Answer rate
responses average 137 words, providing specific, actionable guidance rather than a list of links
Demand spikes absorbed
residents get instant answers even on the busiest days, without queues, hold times or extra staff
1 FTE equivalent workload
absorbed into the redesigned service without any reduction in service quality
Time for residents
self-service allows the team to focus on residents who need more support
Reduced overpayment risk
and a full audit trail for every automated decision without any reduction in service quality
Gap analysis
content gaps identified and evidenced with a prioritised, data-driven view of where residents are struggling
17 Languages served
(out of 70+ available languages) including Arabic, Chinese, Korean and Polish, reaching residents who would otherwise have no self-service option
Live intelligence feed
the system identifies weak answers and prioritises content improvements based on residents’ needs
We’ve moved from lots of different digital journeys towards a much more consistent approach, making it easier for residents to find what they need and access services online. Just as importantly, we now have much better insight into what people are searching for and where we need to improve. We’ve made significant progress, but we’re continuing to learn and develop our digital services.
Joan Tharm, Digital Lead
Success factors
Team focused on people not paperwork
Automation in Revenues and Benefits helps officers spend less time processing routine income changes and more time on complex cases and residents who need extra support.
Consistent digital processes and better-organised online services make information easier for staff to find and manage.
When residents can resolve everyday queries online, staff have more time for those who need a conversation or support tailored to their needs.
Improving services based on residents’ needs
Digital self-service lets residents find information at a time that suits them, with options to access it in different languages.
It also helps the council improve its services. Search insights, heat maps and regular reports show the digital team what residents are asking, where answers fall short and which content needs improving.
This helps the team make ongoing improvements based on how residents actually use services, rather than assumptions about what they need
Enquiries that are irrelevant or missing key information can be flagged automatically and answered early, helping to avoid unnecessary work.
Improving efficiency and governance through automation
Automating routine Revenues and Benefits tasks helps the council handle growing workloads without needing to increase staff numbers at the same rate.
Every automated decision has a full audit trail, making it easier to review decisions and reducing the risks linked to incorrect Council Tax assessments.
Built for what comes next
Lichfield’s digital transformation continues to evolve.
The council has made its online services more consistent, added new self-service options and automated more high-volume back-office tasks.
Together, these changes give the council a scalable digital foundation that can grow and adapt as residents’ expectations, demand and the council’s own needs change.
Easier to Find, Simpler to Deliver
Lichfield is already seeing measurable results. Tens of thousands of residents’ questions have been answered digitally, more high-volume administrative tasks are being automated, and the council has a clearer picture of what residents want to do online.
The work continues. The council is developing its AI-powered search and expanding digital services. Longer term, it aims to connect more service channels and build a fuller picture of residents’ needs and interactions with the council.
The goal is simple: help residents find what they need, make everyday services easier to deliver and give staff more time for the people and cases that need their expertise.
Every digital transformation success stories starts somewhere.
Whatever your starting point, we're here to help. We'll arrange an informal conversation to understand your goals, explore where improvements can be made, and discuss how digital process automation could support your council. If needed, we can also help you build a compelling business case to support your ambitions.