WIREDGOV

The Centre for Data Ethics & Innovation (CDEI) recently published its interim report on algorithmic bias in decision-making along with a landscape summary, conducted by the OIT.

The CDEI’s review focuses on exploring bias in 4 key sectors: policing, financial services, recruitment and local government.  They have taken a phased approach to each sector, starting with policing and then moving onto financial services & recruitment, with work on local government starting in autumn 2019.  Included in the interim report is a commitment from the CDEI to produce a briefing paper on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) later in the autumn which will examine the wider ethical concerns surrounding the technology. This will not be limited to the use of FRT by the police.

The review seeks to answer 3 sets of questions:

1. Data: Do organisations & regulators have access to the data they require to adequately identify & mitigate bias?
2. Tools & techniques: What statistical & technical solutions are available now or will be required in future to identify & mitigate bias and which represent best practice?
3. Governance: Who should be responsible for governing, auditing & assuring these algorithmic decision-making systems?

25-year old man from Bradford has been arrested on suspicion of committing Computer Misuse Act (CMA) and fraud offences, following the recent cyber incident affecting Lancaster University.

Diseases could be detected even before people experience symptoms, thanks to a pioneering new health-data programme as part of the Industrial Strategy.

Businesses & charities are expected to jointly invest up to £160m, alongside a £79m government investment, as part of the Accelerating Detection of Disease programme. The project will support research, early diagnosis, prevention & treatment for diseases including cancer, dementia and heart disease.

The pioneering initiative will recruit up to 5m healthy people.  Volunteered data from the individuals will help UK scientists & researchers invent new ways to detect & prevent the development of diseases.

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, has responded to the Salvation Army’s report on adult social care.

“Councils in England receive 1.8m new requests for adult social care a year – the equivalent of nearly 5,000 a day - and there is a £3.6bn funding gap facing adult social care by 2025, just to maintain existing standards of care and support. 

“We cannot duck this issue as a society any longer. What we need is answers and certainty, now and for the future. The new Prime Minister should publish the much-delayed government green paper before the party conferences start and use the upcoming Spending Review to provide both an immediate and long-term sustainable funding solution, which people who use and work in adult social care urgently need.”

The Residential landlords Association (RLA) highlight some of the proposed legal changes in this sector.

First; The government recently issued the long-awaited consultation on getting rid of section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 in England.  This follows on from the original announcement that the government would be ending section 21.  Wales is doing its own thing and this will probably end up waiting until the Renting Homes (Wales) Act comes into force.
RLA Blog: The Section 21 Consultation

Second:  This last weekend did not only see the publication of the section 21 consultation, but the Government also published a consultation around reform of the rogue landlord database. There is clearly an element here of getting things done before the inevitable government changeover caused by the change in PM and the summer recess.
RLA Blog:  Rogue landlord database

Third:  Plans to improve the Universal Credit system by ending the benefits freeze and promoting direct payments to landlords have been put forward by a cross-party group of MPs.  The RLA provided evidence to the APPG’s inquiry into reform of the controversial Universal Credit system, and has long campaigned to have the Local Housing Allowance cap lifted.
RLA:  New Universal Credit report: MPs back RLA suggestions

Fourth:  Letting agents in England are being urged to check that they are signed up to an approved redress scheme that covers the full remit of their work.  The warning comes after a letting agents was recently fined £3,000 for belonging to an approved redress scheme for its letting agency work but not for its property management work.
RLA:  Letting agents urged to check redress scheme covers FULL remit of work

Fifth:  RLA Wales has told the government it must take landlords’ time into account when setting default fees. Unlike the English equivalent, matters such as default fees (paid by tenants breaching their contract) and prescribed documents (compulsory information to be given to tenants) have yet to be finalised, and are at the discretion of the Welsh housing minister. 

The RLA has now submitted its response to the consultation ‘Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019: default fees and prescribed information’.  The RLA wants the government proposes default payments should cover the actual financial loss AND the loss of the landlord’s time.
RLA:  RLA Wales submits default fees response

The (then) Defence Secretary last week launched a public consultation on new measures to provide stronger legal protections for serving & former armed forces personnel from alleged historical offences.

In recent years, overseas operations have given rise to thousands of allegations of wrongdoing, most of which only emerged years after the event.  These have had a significant impact on members of the armed forces and veterans who have either been the subject of criminal investigations or interviewed as witnesses.  At the same time, others have been called upon to give evidence on behalf of the MoD, which has had to deal with thousands of civil claims at a great cost to the taxpayer.

The consultation (which closes on 13 October 2019) will allow the public to share their views on new proposals to ensure that service personnel and veterans are not subjected to repeated investigations on historical operations.

The consultation does not cover Northern Ireland as the MOD is feeding into the next steps of the Northern Ireland Office’s work on addressing legacy issues of Northern Ireland’s past.  This includes contributing lessons learned from the department’s experience of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team and of historical investigations into allegations from Afghanistan.