CustomerFirst, a new team of experts, will be dedicated to cutting long phone queues, repeated form-filling and endless paperwork that Brits face when dealing with public services
Wasting hours on the phone to get Government help on tax returns or driving tests could be a thing of the past under a new tech pilot.
CustomerFirst, a new team of experts, will be dedicated to cutting long phone queues, repeated form-filling and endless paperwork.
It will look to build services that make use of artificial intelligence (AI) and modern solutions to mirror customer services in the private sector – from modern banking and online shopping to utilities.
Speaking to the Mirror, tech minister Ian Murray said: “We’ve pretty much got a digitised population by an analogue government.
“The public loses millions of hours every single year battling government services, waiting on hold on the telephone, not having emails answered, filling in the same forms, chasing paperwork, trying to get answers and progress reports.
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“It’s completely inefficient for government and it means the relationship between government and the citizen is pretty poor. A culture of ‘computer says no’ is not good enough.
“So what we’re launching today is CustomerFirst, which is a pilot project, which is part of our digital roadmap to try to modernise government.”
The unit will go from public service to public service and decide a unique efficiency plan for each one. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is the first to partner with CustomerFirst, which will work to improve the handling of millions of customer interactions each year on driving licences, vehicle registration and other motoring services.
“The DVLA receives 45,000 pieces of paper through the post every single day and the customer service is pretty poor,” Mr Murray said. “So CustomerFirst will go in there and try to find bespoke solutions for what they want to try and achieve in terms of what their customer service looks like.”
Ministers are taking inspiration from Octopus Energy, where 35% of customer emails are drafted by AI. The energy firm has customer satisfaction ratings of 70%.
“If we can achieve that in government, it’s a huge step forward in terms of the way in which your services interact with the public,” Mr Murray said.
The initiative could also save up to £4billion for the taxpayers, by moving to smarter tech and online processing from phone, post or in person.
CustomerFirst builds on work taking place across government to modernise public services, including at HMRC and the NHS app.
Roads and Buses Minister Simon Lightwood added: “Contacting any service provider should be easy. Too many people are stuck waiting on hold or filling out the same forms again and again. We want to make getting on the road as simple as possible.”