Disclosure Log
use of automated decision making (FOI/4666)
Message from Nottinghamshire County Council - 05 September 2024
Dear ***** *****
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 – REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REFERENCE FOI/4666
Thank you for your request for information relating to use of automated decision making:
1. Copies of any inventory that the authority has of tools, artificial intelligence or software algorithms used to assist in decision-making.
The Council does not have an inventory of automated artificial intelligence or software algorithms used to assist in decision-making.
2. If not included in the above, the names of any such tools.
Not applicable, see above.
3. Where a process contains ADM [automated decision-making] or is partially supported by automated tools, any Equality Impact Assessments [EIA] that have been carried out.
The Council does not have a centralised record of the use ADM to assist decision-making. Nor does it have a centralised record of EIAs. To ascertain whether ADM was being used and to find related EIAs would mean contacting every team manager within the Council and within its wholly owned companies. Those managers are unlikely to have an inventory of ADM and non-ADM processes; and if they did, they would still need to check each process to see if an EIA was necessary and then locate and retrieve that EIA.
The Cabinet Office Freedom of Information Code of Practice 2018 states (Section 1.12): "Public authorities need to search for requested information in order to communicate to the applicant whether the information they are seeking is held or not held by that public authority. These searches should be conducted in a reasonable and intelligent way based on an understanding of how the public authority manages its records. Public authorities should concentrate their efforts on areas most likely to hold the requested information. If a reasonable search in the areas most likely to hold the requested information does not reveal the information sought, the public authority may consider that on the balance of probabilities the information is not held."
We have conducted our search by requesting information from the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Department, the Information Governance Team and the Human Resources Department (where the Equalities Team sits). We consider that these would be the areas most likely to hold the requested information. They have returned responses indicating that they do not hold such information. Therefore on balance of probabilities we consider the information is not held.
The Cabinet Office Freedom of Information Code of Practice 2018 states (Section 1.12): "Public authorities need to search for requested information in order to communicate to the applicant whether the information they are seeking is held or not held by that public authority. These searches should be conducted in a reasonable and intelligent way based on an understanding of how the public authority manages its records. Public authorities should concentrate their efforts on areas most likely to hold the requested information. If a reasonable search in the areas most likely to hold the requested information does not reveal the information sought, the public authority may consider that on the balance of probabilities the information is not held."
We have conducted our search by requesting information from the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Department, the Information Governance Team and the Human Resources Department (where the Equalities Team sits). We consider that these would be the areas most likely to hold the requested information. They have returned responses indicating that they do not hold such information. Therefore on balance of probabilities we consider the information is not held.
4. Where a process contains ADM or is partially supported by automated tools, any Data Protection Impact Assessments [DPIA] that have been carried out.
The Council requires DPIAs to be carried out on all new systems and processing that are likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals. However, we do not keep records of whether systems and processes involve automated processing in a way that makes it straightforward to find and retrieve this information.
Confirming which DPIAs are in scope of this question would require opening and reading each individual DPIA to identify if there is any aspect of each process that uses automated tools or automated decision-making. There are 375 completed DPIAs currently listed on our corporate log. Estimating 5 minutes each to skim through each one and note whether automated decision making is involved, this would take 1875 minutes, or approx. 31 hrs. At a cost of £25 per hour (as set out in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004) this would amount to over £781, which is in excess of the cost limit of £450 for responding to FOIs, as set out in s12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Confirming which DPIAs are in scope of this question would require opening and reading each individual DPIA to identify if there is any aspect of each process that uses automated tools or automated decision-making. There are 375 completed DPIAs currently listed on our corporate log. Estimating 5 minutes each to skim through each one and note whether automated decision making is involved, this would take 1875 minutes, or approx. 31 hrs. At a cost of £25 per hour (as set out in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004) this would amount to over £781, which is in excess of the cost limit of £450 for responding to FOIs, as set out in s12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
We may be able to respond better to Questions 3 and 4 if you were able to narrow the scope of them, for example, by identifying a particular team or work area or a particular type of process (e.g. purchasing, road maintenance, social work allocation); alternatively, in the case of Question 4, by requesting a sample or by limiting it to DPIAs carried out within a narrow time frame. If you were to do this it would be considered a new request.
For future reference, Nottinghamshire County Council regularly publishes previous FOI requests and answers on its website, under Disclosure logs, that may provide details relating to your query. (see link) https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/freedom-of-information/disclosure-log
We trust this now satisfies your request and that you find this information to be helpful.
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Requests should be submitted within 40 working days of the date of receipt of the response to your original request and should be addressed to: Complaints and Information Team, Nottinghamshire County Council, County Hall, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, NOTTINGHAM, NG2 7QP or [email protected] .
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, WILMSLOW, SK9 5AF or https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/foi-and-eir-complaints/
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
Your privacy: we use your personal information such as name and address so that we can comply with our legal obligations to respond to FOI requests. For further details about the use of information about you, please see the information handling privacy notice on our website at https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/4323566/informationgovernanceandinformationrightsprivacynotice.pdf
Yours sincerely
Complaints and Information Team
Chief Executives Department
Nottinghamshire County Council
The Council is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring all personal information is kept confidential and safe. For more details see our general and service specific privacy notices at: https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/global-content/privacy