Ashford Port Health, operating under Ashford Borough Council, serves as the UK's first line of defence against unfit imports entering Great Britain. As the statutory body responsible for official border controls at the Channel Tunnel and the Port of Dover ferry terminal, their mission centres on safeguarding public health and food safety, intercepting high-risk products before they can reach the food chain, preventing disease outbreaks, combating fraud, and ensuring all imports are correctly declared and safe. Learn how data, AI, and automation are helping to drive operational efficiency and productivity gains.
Many councils have invested in dashboards, KPIs, and metrics. But often, the real challenge isn’t the technology - it’s creating the right culture to make that data truly work. The barriers aren’t just systems or data quality. They’re cultural: skepticism, fear, and low data literacy. This blog shares how councils can turn data into real community impact by focusing on three essential pillars.
Councils have moved beyond asking why data matters — they now want to know what difference it’s making. Drawing on conversations with over 30 UK councils, this blog explores the emerging “data dividend”: how insight is translating into earlier interventions, lower costs, and better outcomes for communities. From predictive analytics in housing and children’s services to the four pillars that turn dashboards into decisions, this is about proving the real public value of data.
Councils have become good at predicting risk — but prediction alone isn’t changing outcomes. Based on conversations with leaders across the UK, this blog explores why the next leap is prescriptive insight: turning forecasts into clear actions, priorities, and decisions that happen in time. It looks at where the gap is felt most, why insight often stalls at dashboards, and what it really takes to move from knowing to doing in public services.
Jay Dudley leads Local Government engagement across Mid England (W Mids, E Mids, Greater Lincs), bringing over 15 years of experience with housing & local government and a strong commitment to public service rooted in his working-class Black Country background.
Growing up with a parent in council ICT, Jay gained early insight into the challenges local governments face both internally and as a resident. This inspired a career focused on helping councils use technology to better serve their communities.
He’s seen how legacy systems hold the public sector back, with fragmented data and disconnected services. At Salesforce, he found a platform designed to change that which unifies services, rebuilds trust, and improves outcomes for residents.
Jay is known for his honest relationships, creative problem-solving, and his passion for making a real impact to our communities & it's residents. With a background in the music industry and a love for culture, food, and travel, he brings both heart and innovation to the public sector.
Gurdip leads Salesforce’s Local Government engagement across the UK, bringing over seven years of experience in public sector technology and a proven track record of delivering meaningful transformation.
Before joining Salesforce in 2025, Gurdip played a key role in scaling digital adoption across UK policing and local government. He worked directly with 39 of the UK’s 43 police forces - growing adoption from just one to over 90% - and supported more than a third of all UK councils in modernising their digital capabilities.
Gurdip is driven by a passion for data and its power to improve outcomes. He’s particularly focused on the sector’s challenges around data infrastructure, integration, and readiness - areas where he brings deep insight and hands-on experience.
Known for his energy, curiosity, and collaborative style, he is committed to helping councils harness technology to build smarter, more connected communities.
Mary Jane Toohey is a Senior Account Executive supporting Local Authorities across Greater London. In this role, she is responsible for introducing the Salesforce platform and suite of capabilities to prospective customers, identifying and understanding their business challenges and requirements, and driving user adoption/customer success through the acquisition and implementation of the Salesforce technologies.
She joined Salesforce in August 2018 and has supported the Public Sector during her entire tenure. Before Salesforce, Mary Jane worked at TEKsystems, a large IT staffing firm, where she was an Account Manager working with federal systems integrators to meet staff augmentation requirements for Government programs.
Amanda supports public sector clients in the North West of England and Wales Territories, through digital transformation in financially constrained times. With experience across business ownership, SaaS, housing, and compliance, I bring a consultative, people-first approach grounded in both commercial and operational expertise.
She's led high-performing teams, launched tailored platforms to improve service delivery, and consistently driven growth. Since joining Salesforce in 2024, I’ve continued to support complex change while staying at the forefront of sector learning and innovation.
Her strength lies in 'listening to customers', demystifying disruption—delivering practical, scalable solutions that give public sector organisations clarity, confidence, and long-term impact.
Jason joined Salesforce in 2023 and supports Local Government customers across East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Northeast of England. Jason has over 24 years in the ICT industry working in many industry verticals such as logistics, retailing, telecommunications and the public sector. With a background in infrastructure technologies, unified communications and cyber security, Jason understands how Local Authorities can combine their existing ICT estates with Salesforce capabilities to lead to significant efficiency gains as well as significant improvements in customer service.
Jezz is an Account Executive at Salesforce, supporting local government organisations across East Anglia, Essex, and the Home Counties. With over 18 years of experience in the public sector and 18 months at Salesforce, Jezz brings deep understanding of the unique challenges facing local government today.
Passionate about finding innovative solutions to complex problems, Jezz works collaboratively with customers to identify efficiencies and deliver better services to their communities. His approach is built on listening first—understanding each organisation's specific needs before crafting tailored solutions that drive real impact.
Jezz's commitment to partnership and his extensive public sector knowledge make him a trusted advisor to local government leaders looking to modernise and transform their operations.
Karen joined Salesforce in 2022 as a Senior Solution Engineer, where she supports local authorities on their digital transformation journeys. She advises on and showcases innovative solutions across contact centres, citizen services, customer engagement, data analysis & insights, system integration, and AI. Her main focus is on enabling public sector clients to streamline processes, enhance citizen interactions, and unlock greater value from their technology investments.
With over a decade of experience helping clients achieve measurable outcomes across diverse industries and in different countries/markets, Karen brings a wealth of insight and practical expertise. Karen is passionate about transforming public services to be more accessible, efficient, and impactful - ensuring that technology works for both the people delivering services and the communities they serve.
Scott is an experienced Salesforce professional specialising in the public sector, with a focus on local government across London, the East of England, and the Midlands.
At Salesforce, Scott has led key digital transformation projects with organisations including the Greater London Authority, Halton Borough Council, North Lincolnshire Council, and Camden Borough Council to name but a few.
Scott is passionate about helping local authorities modernise services and deliver real, lasting change in people’s lives. His work focuses on empowering public sector teams with digital tools that improve efficiency, enhance citizen engagement, and support better outcomes for communities.
With deep experience in both local and central government, Scott partners with public bodies to drive citizen-centric, digital-first transformation that has measurable impact.
Vinesh partners with public sector organisations to bridge the gap between complex technology and community needs. With a specialised focus on Citizen Engagement and Proactive Outreach, Vinesh helps authorities move beyond reactive service delivery to create meaningful, two-way dialogues with the residents they serve.
Vinesh’s core strength lies in his ability to simplify the complex—translating intricate technology into clear, actionable strategies that transform how organisations communicate. He draws on a deep professional background within the Data, Social Media, and Marketing sectors to help councils and transport bodies apply modern, data-driven engagement strategies that are easy to implement and even easier for citizens to navigate.
Driven by a belief in technology as a force for good, Vinesh is also dedicated to social impact. He actively supports charitable organisations both in the UK and abroad, bringing the same passion for connection and communication to his philanthropic efforts as he does to his work at Salesforce.
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