Renfrewshire Council is facing pressure from lengthy and sometimes inaccurate complaints and freedom of information (FOI) requests generated using artificial intelligence.
The issue was raised at the council’s Leadership Board meeting on Wednesday 16 September 2026, during a discussion about the authority’s expansion of AI.
Councillor Jim Paterson asked what pressure was being caused by people using AI to prepare councillor enquiries, complaints and information requests.
Head of Corporate Governance Mark Conaghan said officers had received responses within five minutes of issuing detailed FOI decisions. Some challenged the council using legislation that applies in England rather than Scotland.
He told the meeting: “We are just getting the AI correspondence, and I think that it is going to have a detrimental impact on us in terms of the volume and length of FOI requests and complaints that are coming into the council. They are becoming harder and harder to respond to because they are AI generated and, in a lot of cases, not at all relevant or just wholly incorrect.”
Mr Conaghan said AI could be useful for research, drafting and preparing initial documents, but stressed that human oversight was needed.
Chief Executive Alan Russell said AI could help people articulate a complaint or frame a request. However, he said the length and complexity of submissions was increasing and could make it more difficult to identify the central issue.
He said the council and other public bodies would need to develop ways of managing the growing challenge while recognising that AI could help people engage with public services.
So copying and pasting is only ok when it’s the council fobbing people off got it
Kayleigh Dyer can you send me a friend request and I’ll send you foi responses aswell
Don’t forget about the sars request
Lisa Mckerrow I know somebody who likes to put in lots of FOI’s this is comical.
I didn’t think it would’ve impacted them that much.
They are having to do their jobs and answer questions they don’t like it that’s the real complaint here not folk wanting answers.
So copying and pasting is only ok when it’s the council fobbing people off got it
AI is a tool. If the council can use technology to do its work, why shouldn’t ordinary people use it to understand their rights, challenge decisions and put their concerns into words properly?
If public bodies were getting things right and meeting their duties in the first place, people wouldn’t feel the need to keep raising complaints and FOIs.
Knowledge gives people power — and that power belongs with the people too. Use the tools available to you, know your rights and ask the questions.
Again, advances in technology only good when it benefits council. Maybe make it easier for people to deal with customer service to get support or assistance than force them to interact with ai generated assistant called Rosie again one rule for one with technology advances …. The amount of times kids just left with iPads to occupy sorry I mean “idl” … the problem is parents now who wouldn’t before have understood and known their rights or child’s rights have a tool now which is like having a scribe when your dyslexic it’s a beneficial support .. because everyone should be able to understand the processes and system. And there shouldn’t be pressure if there wasn’t any need for complaints maybe that’s the problem the pressure is on because it’s harder to brush people off.
Kayleigh Dyer can you send me a friend request and I’ll send you foi responses aswell
Kayleigh Dyer just wait till the office amd we’ve site is up and running
This council need to understand the whole reason for them being there is to serve the council tax paying residents of Renfrewshire. Trying to get responses to genuine enquiries from a human is next to impossible. Use there telephone support service and you will quickly find the person you spoke to yesterday about a roads issue is the same person who takes your call today about play park equipment. Its only an answering service.
When it comes to making your opinions know on a proposal put forward by the council, its well known your opinion matters not a jot as they have come to a decission before it went out to consultation.
Getting an answer to a question will only get you a proforma response. They only way to get a straight answer is a FOI. Sorry council but if you answered the question properly in the first place it may save you time in the long run.
Ken Simpson