A supplementary edition of nations and regions news, which appears in Socitm’s annual magazine, In Our View, with recent stories from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and every region of England.
Scotland
Moray Council is adding extra capacity to its on-demand bus service M.Connect, as well as three temporary timetabled routes, to take people to and from venues for the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival over the May bank holiday weekend.
Wales
Powys County Council has said the trial digital deposit return scheme it ran in Brecon with the Welsh Government and others was a success with more than half of participants recommending such a scheme in future.
Northern Ireland
Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council is moving from commercially-run app Report All to its own web-based service Report It for public reporting of littering, graffiti, dog fouling and fly tipping.
Republic of Ireland
Louth County Council is setting up a digital hub for innovation in Drogheda, which will provide shared office space and technology infrastructure as well as training and support from later this year.
North-east England
Sunderland City Council will test three self-driving electric minibuses using a route on public roads linking the city’s interchange bus station, the Royal Hospital and the University of Sunderland City Campus.
Yorkshire and the Humber
West Yorkshire Combined Authority will establish a health and digital technology investment zone that it hopes will create more than 2,500 jobs with the universities of Bradford and Huddersfield and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
North-west England
Bolton Council is piloting the use of generative artificial intelligence to increase efficiency and allow staff to focus on more complicated work, council leader Nick Peel told other councillors.
East Midlands
Derbyshire County Council will install EarthSense Zephyr air quality monitors in Ashbourne allowing it and Derbyshire Dales District Council to develop a plan to improve air quality.
West Midlands
Herefordshire Council has introduced a drone to gather visual evidence that could assist prosecutions for fly-tipping in areas that are hard to access on foot, as well as using it for planning and estate management.
East of England
Cambridgeshire County Council, its Greater Cambridge Partnership and Oxfordshire County Council are working with Alchera Data Technologies on using machine learning to monitor and manage transport networks.
South-east England
West Berkshire Council is leading an Internet of Things project across the six Berkshire authorities to install thermal sensors on lampposts, allowing councils to grit roads only when the local temperatures require it.
South-west England
Bristol City Council is offering free online learning courses on child development for local parents and carers, complementing three physical family hubs it opened last summer.
London
Transport for London wants to install automated technology to count bus passenger numbers which could let traffic lights prioritise crowded buses, according to a future opportunity notice it has published for potential suppliers.