Exceptional Individuals: from lived experience to national impact in neurodivergent employment

With growing scrutiny of AI in public services, social enterprise Beam has partnered with Nesta to gather public feedback on how its AI tool, Magic Notes, is being used in social care. Launched in 2023, Magic Notes uses AI to transcribe and summarise meeting notes for social workers and other frontline professionals. It was initially developed to support Beam’s own caseworkers who were struggling with administrative workload. Today, it is used by 65,000 practitioners across over 200 organisations, including local authorities, central government, health, social care and employability services.  The public consultation on Magic Notes was carried out through Nesta’s AI Social Readiness Advisory Label between September and October 2025. It involved 137 UK adults, including social care service users, who were asked to weigh the benefits and risks of using Magic Notes during 18 small-group deliberation sessions.  The findings showed strong public backing for Magic Notes, with 83% of participants feeling positive about social workers using the tool and 86% believing it would benefit social care as a whole. In particular, they valued the tool’s ability to free up social worker time, improve the quality of case notes, support job satisfaction and wellbeing, and enable better interactions with service users.  While participants supported the use of AI to reduce paperwork, they were clear that decisions about care must remain with people, not technology. Risks raised included accuracy, data privacy and over-reliance on technology, alongside a strong expectation that social workers review and approve all AI-generated summaries. However, after learning more about the tool and its safeguards, 74% said its benefits outweighed the risks. The consultation also highlighted deep dissatisfaction with the current social care system. Only 13% of participants said they were satisfied with how social care works today, reinforcing the scale of the challenge facing social care and the need for change. Kathy Peach, Director of the Centre for Collective Intelligence (CCI) at Nesta said:  “The government's AI Adoption plan is bound to fail unless there's public support for AI in public services. Our AI Social Readiness Advisory offers a way to build public confidence and trust, helping people to overcome initial concerns they may have about a tool. This is especially important in public service areas like social care that have a lot to gain from AI, but low public support for the use of AI might be stalling deployment.” Rachel Astall, Chief Customer Officer at Beam, said: “Responsible use of AI is central to how we build and deliver technology at Beam. We were encouraged to see that 86% of the public,  including people who access social care, felt that Magic Notes would benefit social care as a whole. The process surfaced thoughtful, practical suggestions for further improving the use of AI tools, and gave us a clear sense of what earns public confidence. We think it’s important that the public are consulted on how AI is used in public service delivery and we hope more organisations will take similar steps.” magicnotes.ai beam.org About the AI Social Readiness Advisory Label The Advisory Label is a structured public deliberation process that measures public confidence and trust in AI tools being used in the UK public sector. It involves an immersive, educational, and collaborative experience for citizens who weigh the benefits and risks of specific technologies to determine conditions for their trustworthy deployment.

The Social Value Leaders’ Summit has become an agenda-setting event for policymakers, commissioners, business leaders, social enterprises, charities and social value practitioners who wish to see a procurement system which delivers better public services, better value for taxpayers, and better social and environmental outcomes for the country. Last year’s Summit took place just after the passing of the Procurement Act and a raft of policy initiatives and guidance, which have the potential to transform the procurement landscape. Attendees heard directly from the Minister responsible for overseeing the reforms, Georgia Gould MP, as well as cross-sector leaders who discussed in depth what they may mean for social value. This year’s Summit, the 10th to take place, will look at what’s changed one year on with a key focus on how social value can be used as a tool to build a fairer and more resilient economy. This year’s event Date and time: 10:00am – 4:30pm, Wednesday 25 March 2026 Location: PwC’s Embankment offices, central London Audience: 200 delegates (invitation only) Attendees will hear from expert speakers from across sectors, combined with interactive workshops where participants can share their own experiences and insights. A focus of the Summit will be on practical tips and peer learning – looking beyond theory to bring real examples and learnings from practitioners on the coalface. There will also be plenty of time outside of sessions to network and connect with fellow attendees. Key themes Maximising social value to build a fairer and more resilient economy Sharing best practice from across sectors – Find out how public bodies, private companies and social enterprises are working together to create social value. You’ll hear examples of how different organisations are using social value as a tool to drive economic growth, support the communities they work in, and use commissioning to drive positive social and environmental outcomes. Throughout the day attendees will have opportunities to bring their own insights of what is, and also importantly, what isn’t working when it comes to delivering social value. The Procurement Act One Year On – What’s changed? From mandatory reporting for government bodies on their VCSE spend to making the procurement process easier for contracting bodies and social enterprises – get an update on where we’re at a year after the Procurement Act went live, what progress has been made and where the potential for change may not have been realised. What the new Office for the Impact Economy means for social value – hear from representatives from this new Department set up to support purpose-driven businesses partner with government and investors. Find out what role it will play in driving forward the social value agenda and what this will look like in practice. A legal perspective – how can the new procurement framework be used to expand the potential of social value? Can contracts be reserved for social enterprise or charity (VCSE) providers, and how are the changes in the Act affecting organisations outside of central government, from local authorities to private companies? We’ll be looking at the possibilities within procurement legislation and guidance to truly embrace the potential transformative impact of last year’s changes. Attendees will also be the first to hear about our plans for a new, exciting piece of work which will create the next steps needed towards better commissioning, cross-sector working and a new future for mission-driven procurement. The Social Value Leaders' Summit is delivered in partnership with: Who’s it for? The Social Value Leaders’ Summit is an invitation-only event. If you’d like to attend the Summit and work within one of these sectors, please fill out the expression of interest form below, and we’ll be in touch. Local authority leader, social value lead or a role responsible for commissioning services. Procurement or social value lead at a private company A social enterprise or charity leader with a proven record of delivering services to central or local government. Academic with a focus on social value delivery and implementation Sign up to find out more Please note if you work for a public sector organisation, tick the second box - business/organisation other than social enterprises.

Dr Birgit Kehrer, founder of award-winning ChangeKitchen CIC based in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, has been recognised as one of the UK’s 100 most inspiring female entrepreneurs. Birgit, who founded her business in 2010, will be featured alongside leading female founders from across the country as part of Small Business Britain’s f:Entrepreneur #IAlso100 campaign, which celebrates the multi-achievements of women running businesses in the UK. The campaign celebrates 100 exceptional women across the UK who are driving innovation, growth, and positive impact in their communities, while running successful businesses. Birgit is being profiled for her achievements as a leading social entrepreneur committed to tackling food injustice one climate-friendly meal at a time, and providing volunteering, training and work experience opportunities to those marginalised from recognised, more mainstream, employment routes into the hospitality sector. On being featured in this year’s #IAlso100 lineup, Birgit said: “I am genuinely humbled, and delighted, to be named in this prestigious national list of female entrepreneurs. Looking at those who feature in the 2026 list, there are many female leaders who are incredible role models and whom I find equally inspiring.” “Being recognised through awards such as this f:Entrepreneur 100 is so much more than just a ‘nice badge’ – it helps give people, particularly women, a voice and an aspiration to achieve more. I’m privileged to have collaborated with, and supported, some wonderful people through ChangeKitchen CIC and our work as a professional, sustainable catering service and Kindness Café specialising in plant-based menus.” Launched in 2017 by Small Business Britain, the f:Entrepreneur campaign aims to raise greater awareness of the impact of incredible female business owners across the country, and help provide inspiration and role models to the wider small business community.  “It is brilliant to feature Birgit in this year’s #IAlso100 campaign. All of the female entrepreneurs in this year’s line-up are inspirational and remarkable role models,” said Michelle Ovens CBE, CEO and Founder of Small Business Britain. “Their creativity, leadership, and community impact show exactly why supporting female founders is so important, not only for the UK’s economic growth but for the positive difference they make to wider society.” The #IAlso100 campaign offers a host of events, training, and networking opportunities to boost skills, capability, and confidence.  Female entrepreneurship continues to make a powerful economic impact, with estimates suggesting up to £250 billion could be added to the UK economy if women started and scaled new businesses at the same rate as men.1 To view the full list of the 100 female business owners featured in this year’s f:Entrepreneur #IAlso100 campaign, visit https://f-entrepreneur.com/ialso-100-2026/. About ChangeKitchen CIC A pioneer of climate-friendly, socially-driven catering ChangeKitchen CIC is widely recognised as the Midlands’ only fully climate-friendly catering social enterprise, delivering high-end corporate, private and third-sector catering while creating deep, measurable social impact. Over the past fifteen years, ChangeKitchen CIC has become a quiet powerhouse in Birmingham’s social economy, using food as a bridge into opportunity, dignity and community. Their work includes: 95,000 free meals cooked and distributed since March 2020, with 200 to 400 meals still provided weekly. Nearly 10,000 bespoke emergency food parcels delivered to people in crisis. 20 to 50 supported work placements offered every year to people furthest from the labour market. Growth from 2.5 staff to 12, many of whom joined following supported placements. Employment of survivors of modern slavery through partnership with the Jericho Foundation’s Equiano Programme. 50 to 100 tonnes of surplus food saved from landfill annually. A fully climate-friendly kitchen powered by low-carbon energy, composting, recycling and zero-waste principles. changekitchen.co.uk