Barnsley Council to take part in the Government’s Test, Learn and Grow reform programme

Cllr Robert Frost, Cabinet Spokesperson for Core Services, said: “We’re really pleased to be taking an active role in Test, Learn Grow, the Government reform programme to deliver the Plan for Change. 

“At Barnsley Council, we have established a track record for embracing innovation to help deliver exceptional services. We’re the only council ever to win The MJ and LGC Council of the Year Awards in the same year.

“We’ve received international attention for our pioneering use of AI through our partnership with Microsoft as an early adopter of its CoPilot assistant to streamline our processes.

“With our partners, we're delivering Health on the High Street, the UK’s largest relocation of hospital outpatient services to a high street setting. This is bringing more accessible and convenient health and well-being services to thousands of residents in the heart of our town centre.  

“The government has acknowledged that Barnsley is leading the way in tackling economic inactivity through our Pathways to Work initiative. It set out to find out what prevented people from joining the labour market and has sparked national momentum in removing the barriers people face in getting into work.

“We have a great many experts in delivering public services here in Barnsley already, and it’s exciting to be working with external experts to learn from each other as we strive to continuously improve the quality and efficiency of public sector services.”