Search Acumen’s response to the Spending Review

In response to the Spending Review, and the decision to invest £2 billion in AI:

Andrew Lloyd , Managing Director at Search Acumen, says:

“The Chancellor’s commitment to investing in AI should come as no surprise. The UK’s vibrant tech industry, which we’re proud to be a part of, has made first class contributions to the economy, underpinning the global success of our financial, legal and professional services, among other sectors.

“After years of missing the boat of recent ground-breaking advancements in digitalisation, which have revolutionised workload efficiency, this Government is beginning to embrace the wealth-generating potential of tech, as Ministers grapple with the serious challenge of delivering growth while managing tight budgets.

“There’s a lot that can be done with a £2 billion spending commitment to turbo-charge AI innovation. Similarly, the Digital and AI Roadmap could have a real transformative impact on enhancing public services.

“Overall, what’s clear is that the implementation of AI-powered, digital tools is a guaranteed method to maximise productivity, drive down costs, and grow the economy.”

In relation to implications for the property sector and real estate lawyers, following the announcement of a £39bn investment in affordable homes and the roll out of a new AI planning tool, Andrew Lloyd said:

“After years of underinvestment, it’s really pleasing to see a commitment from Government to ease the strain on the affordable and social housing sector, and it will take us one step closer to meeting our ambitious housing and constructions targets.

“But in order to ensure this investment delivers tangible results, more needs to be done to rethink the way social housing portfolios are transacted by real estate lawyers and housing associations at the heart of this process.

“The missing piece of the puzzle is harnessing the power of new technologies, since modernising archaic, paper-reliant processes that continue to slow down property transactions will have an immediate impact on boosting deal flow across all property sectors.

“A promising step forward in this year’s Spending Review is the decision roll out a new AI planning tool to digitally transform the planning system, a great development and something we’d been hoping to see for a while now. We hope this is the first step of many.

“The worry, as always, is that delivery will fail to match the rhetoric, and that a slow and complicated rollout of this project loses the momentum our sector needs to succeed.

“There is also a danger that this falls short. Planning is an important, but not the only, part of the problem holding back the sector, as real estate lawyers and conveyancers handling complex, multi-site property portfolios are all too well aware.

“Search Acumen welcomes the opportunity to work alongside the Government and HM Land Registry to navigate these challenges and continue on this path to digital innovation.”