Use AI and drones to save money, NHS and courts are told
The health service and criminal justice system have been spared major cuts but are under orders to become far more efficient through better use of technology like AI and drones.
Jeremy Hunt said he would plough £3.4 billion into modernising antiquated NHs It systems, but claimed it would help unlock savings of £35 billion.
It had been widely expected that planned public spending growth of 1 per cent a year after the election would be reduced to 0.75 per cent to free up savings for tax cuts.
But Mr Hunt said it would not be right to cut funding given the pressures public services face. ‘I am keeping the planned growth in day-to-day spending at 1 per cent in real terms, but we are going to spend it better,’ the chancellor told the commons.
However, details in the Budget ‘red Book’ showed that many Whitehall departments will still face a squeeze, with Home office’s spending set to fall from £19.2 billion this year to £15.5 billion next year and the Justice Ministry from £10.5 billion to £10 billion.
and the fiscal outlook published by the office for Budget responsibility (OBR) warned that public services ‘continue to show signs of strain’ and any future increase in defence spending or overseas aid would mean cuts to other departments that would ‘present challenges’. It also said that departmental spending per person will be ‘flat over the next five years’.
Mr Hunt announced a ‘landmark public sector productivity plan’ in which proposals will get priority if they deliver annual savings within five years equivalent to the total investment required. as part of the £3.4 billion for the NHs, AI would halve form-filling by doctors, he claimed, while consultants will be freed up do 200,000 more procedures a year through the digitisation of operating theatre administration.
And 130,000 patients will get results more quickly through improvements to how doctors receive MRI and CT' scans.
The NHs app will be modified so that appointments can be confirmed and modified while staff will get a different app to help arrange their shifts.
Another £2.5 billion will be given to the NHS to try to cut soaring waiting times.
Mr Hunt said he would give police forces across england and Wales £7.5 million to introduce violence reduction units.
And drones will fly to the scene of emergencies such as motorway crashes because they can be deployed more quickly than helicopters or cars.
‘Police officers waste around eight hours a week on unnecessary admin. With higher productivity, we could free up time equivalent to 20,000 officers over a year,’ said the chancellor said. ‘So we will spend £230 million rolling out time- and money- saving technology which speeds up police response time by allowing people to report crimes by video call and where appropriate use drones as first responders.’
The scheme will involve the ‘automating the triage of 101 calls’, so that victims of crime will not immediately be put through to an operator. separately, £170 million will be spent on modernising the courts system including digitisation and resolving disputes before they reach trial. AI will be piloted in town halls to speed up planning.
Matthew taylor, chief executive of the NHs confederation, which represents
‘Other public services are likely to take a hit’
healthcare organisations, warned: ‘ the promised £2.5 billion boost for NHs budgets next year will scarcely touch the sides as the service faces the triple threat of ongoing industrial action, significant waiting lists and uncertainty over staff pay.’
Jennifer Dixon, chief executive of the Health foundation think tank, said: ‘While additional funding for the NHs is welcome, other public services are still likely to take a substantial hit, with the OBR stating that unprotected departments will receive a 2.3 per cent a year real-terms cut in funding from 2025/26.’