About this episode
The episode discusses the potential impact of AI on public services in the UK and the challenges faced in government procurement.
What difference would wider adoption of AI have in our struggling public services? Is it the answer to the UK productivity problem? Why does the government struggle to "buy British" when it comes to tech? And could a simple software fix save frontline workers 8 hours of admin a week? In this episode, Robert and Steph are joined by Alex Stephany, the CEO of Beam, a British ‘GovTech’ success story used by two-thirds of UK councils. Alex tells us how it works, but also why the government procurement system is holding back companies like his. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer. Email: therestismoney@goalhanger.com X: @TheRestIsMoney Instagram: @TheRestIsMoney TikTok…
People in this episode
Hosts: Robert, Steph
Guest: Alex Stephany
Topics covered
- AI in public sector
- government procurement
- UK productivity
- public services
- technology adoption
Keywords
- AI
- public sector
- government
- procurement
- productivity
- Beam
- Octopus Energy
Sponsors
Octopus Energy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Beam
Places: UK, Britain
More episodes of The Rest Is Money
- 286. Dan Neidle: Pubs don’t deserve a VAT cut · June 10, 2026 · 33 min
- 285. Can Europe escape American tech dependency? · June 7, 2026 · 42 min
- 284. Is it time to smash the economic consensus? · June 3, 2026 · 48 min
- 283. Does the UK need to be rich? · May 31, 2026 · 57 min
- 282. Are politicians living in a tax-and-spend dream world? · May 27, 2026 · 47 min
- 281. How to tax billionaires · May 24, 2026 · 44 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Rest Is Money podcast page.