The London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI) and the Local Government Association (LGA) have launched a new resource to support local authorities in the procurement, implementation and use of AI.
Titled Responsibly buying AI: A guide for councils in England, it has been developed with the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Victoria Blythe, pan-London information governance lead at LOTI, said the guide addresses the growing need for practical support in implementing responsible AI principle within council operations, and provides practical steps and recommendations for best practice in compliance with data protection law and the Public Sector Equality Duty.
It has been written to support commissioners, procurement officers, contract owners and project managers, and to help information governance and equalities officers in engaging with them.
Questions for compliance
The guide is structured around specific roles in the commissioning and procurement of AI within councils and provides questions to help them comply with the relevant regulations.
Those for commissioners and project managers include what is the rationale behind choosing a specific AI technology, what personal data is it expected to process, what will they do to ensure data quality and minimisation, and who within the organisation will be using the technology?
For procurement officers they include what is the relevance of equality to the subject matter of the contract, and whether a data protection impact assessment or equality impact assessment has taken place.
There are also sets of questions for contract owners, bidders and all staff. For the latter group they include how will service users and employees be affected, and will using the technology impact communities?
Foundations for deployment
Cllr Abi Brown, chair of the LGA Improvement and Innovation Board, said: “The public sector equality duty and data protection law considerations are foundational to that safe and responsible deployment.
“This guidance provides practical tools to help officers confidently address these issues. By following this guidance, councils can navigate the complex AI landscape and deliver vital services responsibly and effectively for the communities they serve.”
LOTI urged local authorities to incorporate the guide into their policy and processes.
