Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what safeguards have been implemented to ensure compliance with statutory requirements relating to automated decision-making, including rights to information, human review, and challenge.

The department does not use automated decision-making systems to make, or support the making of, decisions relating to staff, citizens or recruitment where outcomes are determined without meaningful human involvement. Similarly, the department does not use automated decision-making systems to make employment-related decisions concerning civil servants. This includes decisions relating to performance management, disciplinary action, or the allocation of work. Accordingly, the specific issues raised regarding automated decision-making, human review, oversight arrangements, bias mitigation, trade union consultation, challenge mechanisms and compliance with the provisions of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 are not applicable to the department’s current operations.

The department keeps its use of digital technologies under review and would ensure that any future deployment of automated decision-making systems complies with data protection legislation, regulatory standards and guidance, including requirements relating to transparency, accountability, fairness, human oversight and individuals’ rights to review and challenge decisions where relevant.