WAJD Learning

AI at work, by industry · Civil servants, council officers, councillors, commissioners and public service managers

AI in the public sector and local government: the Playbook, transparency and fairness

Ten principles, a public record of the tools you use, and the equality duty that applies to every one of them.

  • 2modules
  • 1.5CPD hours
  • 90guided minutes
  • Freeto study

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About this course

A public body that uses AI is spending public money and making decisions about people who cannot go elsewhere. That is why the bar is different. The Government Digital Service published the Artificial Intelligence Playbook for the UK Government on 10 February 2025, with ten principles for departments and public sector organisations.

Alongside it sits the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard: a published record of an algorithmic tool, what it does and why it is used. It is mandatory for government departments and for arm's length bodies that deliver public services, and recommended across the whole public sector.

This course goes through the principles, the record, the public sector equality duty, the safeguards for automated decisions, and what to ask before buying.

What you will be able to do

  • Name the ten principles of the AI Playbook
  • Explain what meaningful human control requires
  • State who must publish a transparency record and for which tools
  • Describe the two tiers of a transparency record
  • Apply the public sector equality duty to an AI tool
  • State the safeguards for a solely automated decision
  • Ask the right questions when procuring AI
  • Keep the record that shows equality was considered

Modules

  1. 1 The Playbook's ten principles, and being open about what you use 45 min study · 2 min script · 5 question knowledge check
  2. 2 Fairness, automated decisions and buying well 45 min study · 2 min script · 5 question knowledge check

Assessment and certificate

Knowledge check after each module and a final assessment at 80 per cent, with unlimited attempts.

A digital certificate, issued the moment you have passed and paid, showing 1.5 CPD hours with a verification code. It evidences knowledge of the published position. It is not a regulated qualification, it is not legal or professional advice, and it is not endorsed by any government department. Whether it counts towards your own CPD requirement is for you to judge against your body's rules.

Questions

Who is the AI Playbook for?

Government departments and public sector organisations. It was published by the Government Digital Service on 10 February 2025 and sets out ten principles.

Is the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard mandatory for councils?

It is mandatory for all government departments, and for arm's length bodies which deliver public or frontline services or directly interact with the general public. It is recommended for use across the entire public sector, and records from local government are welcomed.

Which tools need a transparency record?

Within the bodies it binds, tools that have a significant influence on a decision-making process with public effect, or that directly interact with the general public.

Does the equality duty apply to software?

The public sector equality duty applies to the body in everything it does, including choosing and using a tool. The body must have due regard to equality when it decides, and should keep a record that it did.