UKResearch
Public Law Project finds UK public bodies rarely disclose automated decision-making
A Public Law Project report found that UK public bodies increasingly use AI and automated tools in decisions on social security, tax and adult social care, but rarely tell people, making decisions harder to challenge. The report, Missing Pieces, reported by the Law Society Gazette on October 26, 2026, calls for a legal duty to notify individuals and a statutory footing for the government's algorithmic transparency register.
Key points
- Of 15 automated systems believed to be in use, only four appear on the government's algorithmic transparency register.Law Society Gazette
- Of 125 register entries reviewed, researchers found only one linked to an equality impact assessment.Law Society Gazette
- Public bodies often withheld information under freedom of information exemptions, most commonly law enforcement.Law Society Gazette
- Data protection law distinguishes solely automated decisions from human-in-the-loop ones, leaving gaps in rights to be notified.Law Society Gazette
- The group says the framework cannot be left to evolve through the courts alone and wants enforceable rights to information.Law Society Gazette