We’ve put together this resource to share a clear, direct insight into how we scale complex engineering and automation challenges. No gated forms, just a practical look at how our embedded technical teams design, deploy and support RPA transformations from start to finish.
RPA Transformation
How Morson helped Lancashire Constabulary reduce costs, increase efficiencies and gain global recognition, through the execution of Robotic Process Automation.
Exploring the transformative power of Enterprise Automation
How Morson partnered with SS&C Blue Prism to generate over £11M in savings, earn Global “Best Newcomer” status and scale from a 1-force proof of concept to a 24-force national programme.
Case Studies
The ChallengeLancashire Constabulary began to rollout their RPA project with a previous supplier Working with this supplier resulted in high costs and service delivery issues High costs led to difficulties with budget allocation, and poor delivery led to more staff On top of that, consultants were being sourced from outside the Northwest region, leading high travel costs |
The SolutionEngage with a new consultative partner who could effectively deliver the service required Re-outline the objectives of the project with new supplier to ensure effective results Source local candidates to create a team culture and reduce travel costs |
How did Morson help?
- Morson used their network of local candidates to find individuals that matched the needs of Lancashire Constabulary, and were also local to the Preston HQ
- Introduction of Blue Prism specific screening questions to ensure all candidates had the relevant experience
- Number of staff now working on the project has risen from 12 to 26 A fill rate of 100% has been achieved so far, meaning
- Lancashire police only have to deal with one supplier Morson introduced the service of
- Morson Screening, taking candidate vetting time from 3 months to 3 weeks
Key Stats
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26
contractors now live on the project
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100%
fill rate from Morson
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G-Cloud
Model: G-Cloud 13
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6 figure
savings in year 1
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2023
Global recognition for project, winning Blue Prism best newcomer for 2023
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3 weeks
Reduction in average candidate screening time from 3 months to 3 weeks
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Excellence
Creation of centre of excellence for other UK constabularies
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9 Months
Cost Neutral within 9 months, with continued savings thereafter
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What’s next?
- Lancashire police are now having conversations with 23 other regions on how to effectively deliver RPA within their constabularies
- Creation of a centre for excellence
- RPA project has been extended for a further 4 years due to success and efficiencies created
- Global recognition from Blue Prism
“Morson have been a pleasure to work with and continues to supply high quality candidates. Their understanding of what we need and the ability to turn tasks around quickly provides us with a first-class service and allows us to flex accordingly.”
Programme Director
Lancashire Constabulary
Keynote speaker
“Lancashire Police has successfully implemented a process automation capability that has significantly improved data quality across various IT systems. This accomplishment earned them the prestigious Blue Prism “Best Newcomer” award for 2023, recognising their success on a global scale. The award has sparked interest in Lancashire Police’s potential to serve as a Centre of Excellence, helping other police forces across the UK benefit from their expertise.”
Carl Drinkwater
Regional Programme Director Lancashire Police
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Their collaboration has enabled the automation of numerous business processes that would typically take years to complete, reducing timelines to just months, and sometimes even weeks. Their approach began with a single process as a proof of concept, and after its success, it gained national interest. Today, 23 other forces across the Northwest and Southern regions have joined the programme. |
Lancashire Police’s advancements in process automation have positioned them as a thought leader in this field, offering valuable insights and resources for other police forces across the UK. Their achievements represent a significant step forward in leveraging technology to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in policing. |
Enhancing victim services They have improved efficiency, reduced manual effort, and minimised errors including:
| • Storing and managing prisoner information | • Automating IVR (interactive voice response) processes | |
| • Streamlining document-heavy tasks, such as CPS file submissions and gun license processing. | • Processing CCTV footage for murder investigations |
The results speak for themselves!
Efficiencies To Date
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£11.89M
Efficiencies To Date
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13.36M
Processed Items
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740.89%
Return on Investment
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99.28%
Automation Success %
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438.19 FTE
Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Efficiencies
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Data Quality represents the largest savings area, driving over £11.12M of cumulative value.
SS&C Blue Prism Platform Feature Overview
Build Automations
We provide a no-code / low-code development and debugging environment that is highly structured and offers very high levels of reusability.
Run Automations
Allocates processes to any available digital worker; all actions are fully audited. Any failures can be reported as exceptions for remediation. A browser-based Control Room offers greater flexibility in giving visibility across the wider organization.
Manage Automations
A central team of process controllers manages and co-ordinates work and activities based on business priorities. Centralized management ensures governance and change control.
Digital transformation
| Year | Scale | Budget | FTE Saved | Value / Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 Est. | £126k | 2.39 |
£89.00K
3,155 hrs
|
| 2021 | 5 Est. | £322k | 25.40 |
£945.92K
33,529 hrs
|
| 2022 | 8 Est. | £517k | 73.11 |
£2.72M
96,508 hrs
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| 2023 | 10 Est. | £632k | 117.84 |
£4.39M
155,555 hrs
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What have we learnt about Automation?
Using Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a game-changer for the UK Public Sector and Government because it tackles inefficiencies head-on. With growing pressure to do more with less, RPA automates repetitive, time-consuming tasks freeing up staff to focus on higher-value work that requires human judgment. Whether it’s speeding up case processing in local councils, improving citizen services, or reducing administrative burdens in policing and healthcare, automation allows teams to work smarter, not harder. Plus, with budgets always under scrutiny, RPA delivers real cost savings while improving accuracy and compliance.
We’re already seeing real impact.
The NHS has used automation to cut down referral processing times from weeks to just hours, reducing delays for patients. Police forces are automating back-office tasks like evidence handling and data entry, allowing officers to spend more time on the front line. Even HMRC has embraced RPA to streamline tax processing and reduce backlogs. These successes prove that when implemented well, automation isn’t about replacing jobs, it’s about making public services faster, more efficient, and ultimately better for everyone.
Key take-aways from the evening:
| The board needs to truly understand the problem | Getting buy-in from the right people is critical | |
| Everyone needs to be aligned on the mission | Automate first, then refine with Lean principles | |
| Jumping straight to AI without automating first? Costly and risky! | At its core, this is old-school, know your customer journey! | |
Some feedback following the event
Some feedback following the event
“Massive thanks for the Invite Jenny Rostron, was a superb evening with great takeaways on the usage of RPA within the Public Sector. A great effort by Carl Drinkwater and his team to be able to deliver those savings and overcoming the challenges on process improvement and the education that goes with it to share the journey with others. Ably supported by Naz Juna and Michael Thorpe. Look forward to future events.”
Tim Ross
Enterprise Business Consultant/Director The Facilitator Consulting
“£11 million in savings (and counting) and this is mostly from improving and automating Data Quality Processes. A programme so successful that it is now being rolled out nationally by the Met Police. Wow. Carl Drinkwater drove this important work, he secured the buy-in at Lancashire Constabulary and now he’s driving it across most of the Police Force. Thank you so much for taking the time to come to Leeds to show us what the North Star looks like and how we can do it too.
A huge thank you to Jenny Rostron Chris Fernyhough and SS&C Blue Prism for sharing such an incredible story and giving us much food for thought. Me and my colleage Jai Prathap G V took away lots of notes!
This definitely resonated with me and my thoughts are that most of the Higher Education sector would benefit from this. As Universities look to make savings and improve efficiencies, it’s good for us to share and learn from other sectors who can help us along the way.
To my colleagues in HE (and other sectors) feel free to reach out to me. We have so much to learn from each other.”
Ayesha Hussein
Data & AI Governance, Data Quality Lead University of Leeds
“Thank you for a lovely evening Jenny Rostron and colleagues, informative discussion led by your great panel – I learnt a lot about RPA, now thinking about all of the ways it could be used!”
Emma Maker
Head of User Centre Design Health Research Authority
Supporting your automation journey…
We work with customers to support their automation journeys – whether you’re exploring automation for the first time or scaling its adoption across your enterprise. Our expertise in assessing operational workflows and identifying automation opportunities empowers us to deliver tailored solutions that seamlessly balance innovation and risk in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Reach out to Lucy or Jenny to book a call and kick off your free Discovery session.
Lucy HendersonHead Of Delivery (Tech Programmes)
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Jenny RostronManaging Consultant (Automation)
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Lifecycle Stage |
Our Core Capability Details |
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Process Management
Demand Pipeline
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Through a comprehensive assessment of current state processes, we capture key information about workflows that will deliver automation efficiencies, cost savings and productivity improvements which are built into an automation demand pipeline. |
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Process Management
Requirements Assessment
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We gather requirements, assess process suitability, and document high-level process maps, to refine and prioritise the automation service demand pipeline for implementation. |
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Delivery Management
Solution Design
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We create a Solution Design Definition (SDD) document to detail the full ‘To Be’ process for each workflow that meets the agreed acceptance criteria – defining the logical flow, including data input, decision making and error handling. |
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Delivery Management
Build and Test
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We iteratively build and test the ‘To Be’ process from a functional and systems integration perspective, through Development to Production, until the automation is signed off for deployment to live. |
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Operational Support
Hypercare
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Hypercare, which is usually provided for 1-2 weeks post go-live, includes manual monitoring of the automation(s) delivered to confirm that the process is working as planned. Any issues identified are swiftly resolved by our technical experts during Hypercare. |
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Operational Support
BAU Support
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Our BAU support options range from zero dependency, which includes all required upskilling and knowledge transfer activities, to a fully outsourced managed service. |
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Operational Support
Continuous Improvement (CSI)
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We review each deployed process, capturing associated feedback/ information in a CSI backlog. By prioritising delivery of agreed enhancements, we drive continuous improvement. |
Our Partners
Our Partners – SS&C Blue Prism
Get in touch for a free discovery session
Mike Thorpe
Strategic Account Executive, UK Policing
Mike Thorpe is the Strategic Account Executive for SS&C Blue Prism’s UK Policing Business, supporting 25 of the 43 Regional Forces who are customers. Mike also works closely with the Carl Drinkwater and the National RPA Programme to support the adoption of intelligent automation more broadly across the UK Policing estate. Mike has worked in a number of roles since he joined SS&C Blue Prism in December 2020, working in Professional Services and as a Solution Consultant. Prior to joining SS&C Blue Prism, Mike was a customer at Octopus, where he led the integration of SS&C Blue Prism into the technology estate before leading the team to deliver over 150 processes, saving upwards of £350,000 per month.
Naz Juna
Account Executive for Local Government & Housing
Naz Juna is the Blue Prism Account Manager for Local Authority customers, specializing in helping councils leverage Intelligent Automation to enhance public services. Over the past three years, Naz has supported 40+ councils in streamlining operations, with a strong focus on process improvement in Social Care and back-office functions. More recently, he has been at the forefront of projects that empower local authorities to integrate AI-driven solutions— transforming the way they deliver customer services and drive efficiency.
Start your Enterprise Automation journey here. Get in touch, today
