Newcastle City Council is using an Amazon contact centre and associated artificial intelligence (AI) services to handle some residents’ requests for services. The benefits are claimed to include faster response times. The risks are acknowledged by the government to include privacy concerns, but the council says it has acted to mitigate these.
The controversial use of AI is spreading throughout local government but in the case of Newcastle’s contact centre at least, North East Bylines can find no evidence that it has been debated in public, though it has been in use for more than a year. It first came to the attention of this writer, a Newcastle resident, through an announcement on the website of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) on 13 August.
Council in the cloud
The city council is using AWS Contact Centre Services (Amazon Q and Contact Lens), part of the same business empire as Amazon retail headed by Jeff Bezos, one of the world’s richest men.
According to DSIT, the Cabinet Office and the Government Digital Service, Newcastle operates a cloud-based contact centre platform using Amazon Q and Contact Lens to support staff, transcribe calls, and provide service insights.
A detailed description states: “Amazon Connect routes calls/chats to the right team, Amazon Q provides agents with real-time, approved knowledge prompts and suggested responses, and Amazon Contact Lens automatically transcribes conversations and generates interaction analytics (e.g., key topics/trends) to support quality assurance and staff coaching; Amazon Lex may also be used to power IVR/chat menus for self-service and triage [IVR is interactive voice response – the sort of thing you hear when you make a phone and get instructions like press 1 for…press 2 for…etc).
“The scope”, adds the government statement, “is limited to inbound/outbound contact-centre interactions handled through Amazon Connect and the associated supervision/quality processes; the outputs are advisory and do not make or automate decisions about residents (e.g., eligibility, enforcement, or case outcomes).
“Limitations include that prompts, transcripts and analytics can be affected by audio quality, accents/background noise, incomplete information and model confidence, and the tools are not used outside the contact-centre context or as a sole basis for decisions—staff remain responsible for verification, follow-up and any actions taken.”
Risks and mitigations
“Risks”, adds the statement, “include privacy concerns, transcription inaccuracies and potential bias, particularly for people with speech impairments, strong accents or where English is not a first language, as well as over-reliance on automated insights. Mitigations include human oversight of decisions, data redaction, testing and monitoring, staff training, and governance controls.”
Council statement
The city council told North East Bylines that its priority was to make it easier for residents to access services in the way that suited them best. While some residents wanted quick digital and self-service options, others preferred to speak to a colleague.
“Our approach is not about replacing people with technology, but about offering a range of channels and ensuring residents can choose the route that works best for them. Technology can help us deal more efficiently with routine enquiries, creating additional capacity for our staff to support customers who need more complex help or who prefer personal contact.
“The use of Amazon Q and Contact Lens supports this customer commitment by helping advisers find accurate information more quickly, reducing the amount of administration required after calls, and identifying common issues that customers are experiencing. This helps us improve services and reduce avoidable contact, while ensuring that council staff remain at the centre of customer interactions and decision-making…
“We will continue to provide assisted and person-to-person support for those who need it. The aim is to improve access and responsiveness across all channels, not to restrict them. Technology is being used to support colleagues and enhance the customer experience, enabling staff to focus their time where it adds the greatest value to residents.”
Privacy concerns
Asked about privacy concerns, the council said: “Protecting residents’ privacy is a key priority. Before introducing these capabilities, the council completed a Data Protection Impact Assessment and put in place appropriate safeguards. These include compliance with UK data protection legislation, retention controls, access controls, privacy notices and measures such as redaction of sensitive information. Customer data continues to be managed under the council’s existing governance and data protection arrangements.
Redundancies
Asked whether any jobs would be lost as a result of the introduction of AI, the council said: “As part of our Change and Innovation programme we are reviewing how we become more efficient and effective in handling customer contact. We anticipate making savings but it’s too early to say if there will be any job reductions.”
Transparency
The council said the statement (on the DSIT website) had been published as part of the government’s Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard, which encouraged public sector organisations to be transparent about the algorithmic and AI-enabled tools they use. “Newcastle’s record is one of many published through the national scheme. The publication reflects our commitment to openness and transparency.”
Comment
AI is here to stay. It can be of immense benefit when used to carry out routine, time-consuming tasks taking the appropriate precautions. It was used in the preparation of this report to check, for example, whether there was any record of the introduction of AWS to the city council’s contact centre in council documents; nothing specific to the Amazon company was found, though there are general references to the use of AI, and it is clearly a subject to which the council is paying close attention and is keen to make use of. Indeed, the deputy leader of the council, Councillor Mark Mitchell, holds the cabinet portfolio for digital transformation and an official at assistant director level is the “senior responsible owner”.
The Government Digital Service published guidance for public bodies on publicising their use of algorithmic tools on the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS) website on 8 May 2025, which the city council told North East Bylines it had done. That is all very well, but how many interested Newcastle residents have even heard of the ATRS? As the guidance advises public bodies: “You should consider the possibility that publishing information on your algorithmic tool may invite attention and scrutiny from the public and media.” Quite so.
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