Latest news with #PaulRowling
BBC News
a day ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Stockton's Newport Bridge to be closed for second summer
A road bridge spanning the River Tees is to close for the second summer in a row for major maintenance Bridge, which opened in 1934, is thought to be the first vertical lift bridge in Britain and the largest and heaviest of its type in the on the Grade II listed structure is set to begin on 7 July, and last until late summer or early autumn.A stretch of the A1032 from Newport Roundabout to the Portrack Interchange will be closed to traffic, though there will be pedestrian and cyclist access. The maintenance will include bearing and top plates replacements and installation of Vehicle Restraint Systems (VRS) for safety and ballast Paul Rowling, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's cabinet member for resources and transport, said the age of the iconic structure meant it required regular maintenance."These are a continuation of activities that began in summer 2024," he said."We're sorry for any inconvenience the closure will cause for residents in our borough and in Middlesbrough." Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Stockton Council claims AI pilot saves staff time
Artificial intelligence programmes being piloted at Stockton Council are "fundamentally changing" how staff work, bosses have local authority is one of 25 testing AI systems which transcribe and summarise officials said the pilot had already drastically reduced paperwork and saved staff sector union Unison urged local authorities to adopt AI to help staff and reduce working hours, but not as a means to cut jobs. The two systems being tried out in Stockton are Minute and Magic Notes which can record, transcribe and summarise meetings attended by up to 40 such as action plans or internal reports can also be completed automatically. A simple guide to help you understand AIFive things you really need to know about A1 The council's deputy leader, Labour's Paul Rowling, said: "Speaking with the staff, it is fundamentally changing their day-to-day job."They can spend much less time doing admin and much more time delivering those public services that our staff are dedicated to." Corinne Moore, the council's digital and website development manager, said it had reduced staff workload."One example is in public protection," she said."Some of the meetings in there take a significant amount of time and someone would have to transcribe that entire meeting by hand."Being able to record it has taken that time down from three hours of transcription to half an hour." 'Upskilling staff' Unison's AI policy lead Kate Jones said many local authority workers were benefiting from artificial intelligence systems, but there was concern over the potential for job losses."If it is used, it needs to be used for the benefit of public services and to improve the working lives of workers," she said."There are definitely workers out there who are really concerned for their jobs."It is really important that any introduction of a transformative technology is accompanied by a serious plan for reskilling and redeployment."Rowling said the council was not intending to use it to reduce staff numbers."We see it as a way of upskilling our staff and improving their skills to make them ready for the future," he said."We certainly don't see it as a cost cutting or job cutting exercise." Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
