Council specialists
Former council CTOs and specialists bring first-hand understanding of local government technology, procurement and
operational priorities.
AI-Powered Contact Centres for Local Government
From bin collections to social care, Softcat helps you design a contact centre that gets residents to the right service sooner.
Faster answers for residents, more time for staff
AI-powered contact centres can help you answer routine questions at any hour and update residents before they need to call. Your budget goes further, and your staff have more time for the conversations that need a person. We keep telephone and face-to-face routes open for residents who prefer them.
Improve the journeys residents use most
Start with the journeys where AI can help most. Each one shows what changes for the people you serve and how we deliver it.
Revenues and benefits
Smoother billing peaks and clearer updates on claims.
Residents check balances, instalments, and claim status at any hour and receive proactive claim updates. Secure payment capture keeps card details away from staff and can reduce the scope of Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance.
Waste and environment
Fewer repeat calls about collections and clearer updates when rounds change.
Collection dates and subscription questions are answered across web, chat, and voice. You can log each request against the resident's address and send progress updates. Contact analytics show which rounds and streets generate repeat reports.
Adult social care
Families kept informed, and urgent needs seen first.
People can check assessment and direct-payment status, and referrals reach the right team with the details captured. Routing rules put urgent and safeguarding contacts first. Complex care conversations reach a person directly.
Children's services
Clearer referrals and prompt access to safeguarding professionals.
You can capture referral information and pass the context to the right team. Families get updates on referrals, assessments, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and admissions. Safeguarding routes stay immediate and clearly signposted.
Customer service hub
Residents reach the right council service sooner.
Context follows residents between voice and digital channels, so agents signpost accurately and reduce transfers. Live translation and assisted digital help widen access. Qualified interpreters join sensitive conversations.
Highways and public realm
Fewer duplicate reports and clearer updates on works and closures.
Residents report faults by location, and you can check for existing reports before creating a new one. Parking and closure questions are answered from current information. Urgent safety issues go straight to the operational team.
Planning and building control
Applicants kept informed, and more officer time for casework.
Applicants and agents get case status updates directly, so officers keep their time for casework. You can capture enforcement reports and consultation responses consistently and route them to the right officer. Specialists remain available for complex discussions, with the case history in view.
Housing
Faster repair updates and urgent housing support close at hand.
Tenants report repairs and get appointment updates online or by phone. Tenancy, rent, and anti-social behaviour contacts reach the right officer with service history attached. People facing homelessness reach trained staff directly.
Major incidents
Communities kept informed, with staff free to help people in danger.
Routine closure, sandbag, and status questions are answered from current information, so staff can focus on urgent needs. You can send alerts on each resident's chosen channel. Urgent and safeguarding routes stay open to people throughout.
Trained people for every sensitive decision
Routine questions are answered from approved information, and everything else reaches the right team with context. Trained staff make safeguarding, vulnerability, entitlement, and statutory decisions. Every automated interaction is recorded and searchable. That gives you evidence of how residents were served.
Why Softcat
We help councils deliver consistent, cost effective resident services that remain accessible when people need them, underpinned by clear governance and long-term resilience.
Your outcomes first
We align the right
technologies to your specific challenges, budget and desired outcomes, creating
a resilient technology
environment.
Adoption that lasts
We help your teams build
the skills and confidence
to embed AI into everyday working, improving
productivity and supporting better services for residents.
Resilience built in
Cloud services and
flexible support
channels help residents
access essential
services when they
need them.
From first assessment to managed service
You can join at any stage. We stay accountable from the first assessment to the service that runs years later.
Advise
We assess your estate, demand, and compliance obligations, and agree the measures of success before anything is built.
Architect
We design the operating model, governance, and channels around your needs. The design builds on the platforms you already run.
Implement
Integration, configuration, and migration follow a single plan that works around your billing cycles and statutory deadlines.
Support
We give intensive support through go-live and stabilisation. You keep a direct escalation route long after delivery.
Manage
Support, continuous improvement, and managed service options let the service grow with demand.
See an AI-powered contact centre in action at our experience event, then plan your first council journey with us.