Public Authority Algorithmic and Automated Decision-Making Systems Bill [HL]

Lord Knight of Weymouth Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 13th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Knight of Weymouth (Lab)]

My Lords, I very much welcome this Bill. It is a bit like the previous Bill, in that it addresses an important set of issues, and I encourage my Front-Bench friends to find a way, if not through this Bill, to address them.

In many ways, this is a bit of a warm-up for the debate we will have on Monday on the Data (Use and Access) Bill, to which the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, has tabled a number of amendments on the same sort of issues. Indeed, this Bill could even be using some of the same text as his amendments. So, it is a pleasure to be able to rehearse what I might want to say on Monday.

Automated decision-making by AI is an area where we are balancing efficiency and equity. There are some significant savings to be made in public efficiency and public money with the use of automated decision-making tools. However, we have to be conscious of the risks associated with algorithmic bias and the extensive use of ADMs, which DWP officials have noted in evidence sessions. The noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, reminded us of the A-level marking scandal in 2020—it was clearly unreasonable for individuals’ A-levels results to be changed because of the results of previous similar candidates but not the candidates actually taking the tests.

Two weeks ago, I read in my newspaper—online, obviously—that departments are not registering their use of AI systems, as they are mandatorily required to. Only three Cabinet Office ADMs have been registered since 2022. So, not only do we need to legislate in this area; we also need public authorities to stick to it.

The equity risk is higher in some areas than others. We have to pay particular attention where, for example, ADMs are applied to benefits—to the money people receive—to sentencing, which happens in some parts of the world, to immigration decisions and to employment. In addition, as the noble Lord said, they are likely to disproportionately affect the poorest.

Why has the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, confined his Bill to public authorities? I am sympathetic to extending this to work settings generally, including in the private sector. We see people being hired, managed and fired by ADM. Not every Christmas present is delivered by Santa Claus, and logistics workers are working flat out at the moment, under zero-hours contracts, being managed by ADMs. We should give them some protection.

I look forward to the Minister’s response and to discussing this more on Monday, and I hope we can see some progress on this.