The challenge
Lichfield District Council is a local authority in the heart of England supporting a vibrant economy and community of more than 106,000 people across Staffordshire. To improve resident experiences and reduce pressure on stretched teams, they set out to address some key challenges:
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A fragmented digital estate: Individual teams had built 230+ forms independently, using different styles, outcomes and often hard to find on the website, prompting residents to reach for the phone instead.
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A search function that couldn’t keep up: As new services moved online, the council’s existing search function struggled to index content reliably and returned poor results. Residents were sent back to the phone, even when the answer was there.
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A growing processing burden: Council Tax Support notifications, each requiring manual review, had reached volumes that were stretching team resources and making it increasingly difficult to keep up with demand.
“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, Lichfield District Council
The solution
Creating a consistent digital front door
As part of its wider digital transformation programme, Lichfield District Council redesigned its website and standardised its approach to online forms using our accessible Content Management System (Jadu Central) to support the new digital experience.
This replaced an estate of around 230 independently developed forms with a more consistent approach across services, helping to improve accessibility, usability and the overall resident journey. The work was not simply about introducing new technology. It formed part of a broader programme to redesign digital services around how residents access and use them.
In addition, AI-powered search (Agent:Ex Search) has been introduced to give residents direct, contextual answers to their questions rather than simply presenting a list of links to navigate. It provides another self-service route for residents and can respond to changes in digital demand without creating queues or hold times.
Importantly, the insight generated through search helps the council understand what residents are trying to find and where existing website content may not be meeting their needs. This gives the digital team evidence to identify and prioritise improvements based on real resident behaviour.
Automated Revenues & Benefits processing
Alongside improvements to the resident-facing digital experience, Lichfield redesigned elements of its Revenues and Benefits processes to make greater use of automation with our Revenues and Benefits solution (Govtech). The Council redesigned its Council Tax Support scheme as a banded discount model, helping to unlock levels of automation that were not previously possible.
Using Department for Work and Pensions data received daily, the system can calculate relevant discount bands, update claimant accounts and create an audit trail. Most routine changes can therefore be processed without manual intervention.
Lichfield has also redesigned its teams and processes around this increased use of automation. This means the same-sized team can manage significantly higher volumes while officers concentrate their expertise on cases requiring human judgement or additional support.
“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, Lichfield District Council
The result
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
on high-pressure days without queues, hold times or additional staffing but residents get instant answers
17 Languages served
(out of 70+ available languages) including Arabic, Chinese, Korean and Polish, reaching residents who would otherwise have no self-service option
86% Processed automatically
Council Tax Support changes processed automatically with same-day turnaround (previously multi-day manual reviews) – 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
Time for residents
self-service allows the team to focus on residents who need more support
1 FTE equivalent workload
absorbed into the redesigned service without any reduction in service quality
Reduced overpayment risk
and a full audit trail for every automated decision without any reduction in service quality
Content gaps identified
and evidenced with a prioritised, data-driven view of where residents are struggling
Live intelligence feed
the system flags where answers are weak, giving an evidence-based list of where content needs improving, prioritised by real resident need
Verified by Lichfield District Council – October 2026
“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, Lichfield District Council
Business impact
Greater automation within Revenues and Benefits means officers spend less time processing routine income changes and can focus more of their expertise on complex cases and residents who need additional support.
Standardised digital processes and a more structured digital estate make information easier for staff to find and manage.
By giving residents more opportunities to resolve routine queries through digital self-service, the council can preserve staff capacity for people who need a human conversation or more tailored support.
Digital self-service gives residents another way to access information at a time that suits them, including through multiple language options.
The benefits extend beyond the individual interaction.
Search insight, heat maps and regular reporting help the digital team understand what residents are asking, where answers are weaker and where content should be improved.
This creates a continuous improvement cycle informed by actual resident behaviour rather than relying solely on assumptions about what people need.
Automating routine Revenues and Benefits processing has enabled the council to manage increasing volumes without increasing staffing at the same rate.
Automated decisions also provide a full audit trail, supporting governance and reducing the risk associated with incorrect Council Tax assessments.
Lichfield’s digital transformation continues to evolve.
The council has developed a more consistent digital estate, introduced new self-service options and increased automation of high-volume back-office processes.
Together, these changes provide a scalable digital foundation that can continue to adapt as resident expectations, demand and the organisation itself change.
Services that are easier to find and simpler to deliver
Lichfield’s progress is already delivering measurable results: Tens of thousands of resident questions answered digitally, high-volume administrative processes increasingly automated and better insight into what residents are trying to achieve online.
There is more to do. AI-powered search is continuing to develop, digital services are expanding and the council’s longer-term ambitions include connecting more channels and developing a more joined-up view of the resident.
The aim remains straightforward: Make it easier for residents to find what they need, make routine services simpler to deliver and give council staff more time to focus on the people and cases where their expertise makes the greatest difference.