After government announced six months ago that a mandatory publication regime will be introduced for automated decision tools used by departments, DSIT has indicated that records will be released soon

Six months after government announced plans to require departments to publish details of algorithms used in decision-making, a tranche of transparency records will be “published shortly”.

Overseen by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS) was introduced in late 2021 to provide a standardised framework for public bodies to provide information on their use of algorithmic tools. Since then, only nine records have been published – just four of which were filed by central government agencies.

But, in its response to a consultation on the regulation of artificial intelligence tools, government announced in February that, following the conclusion of what was described as “a successful pilot… we will now be making use of the ATRS a requirement for all government departments and plan to expand this across the broader public sector over time”.

The mandation for Whitehall agencies to publish records is soon to bear fruit, new comments provided to the Guardian by DSIT indicate.

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“Technology has huge potential to improve public services, but we know it’s important to maintain the right safeguards including, where appropriate, human oversight and other forms of governance,” a departmental spokesperson said. “The algorithmic transparency recording standard is now mandatory for all departments, with a number of records due to be published shortly.”

The spokesperson added that the department is continuing efforts “to explore how [ATRS] can be expanded across the public sector”.

“We encourage all organisations to use AI and data in a way that builds public trust through tools, guidance and standards,” they said.

Shortly after the planned introduction of mandatory publication of records was announced, the then minister for tech Saqib Bhatti said that DSIT was working with the Central Digital and Data Office to “finalise the detailed scope – including some limited but necessary exemptions, e.g. for national security reasons” for the transparency regime.

Several high-profile algorithms – including an anti-fraud tool used by the Department for Work and Pensions, and visa application-processing systems deployed by the Home Office – have previously been the subject of campaigns warning of the potential for bias, and calling for greater transparency. Such calls have largely gone unheeded so far and, in the DWP’s case, the department has claimed that releasing details of the algorithm could help the fraudsters the technology is intended to detect.

Campaigners will be keeping a close eye on whether these algorithms might be among those that qualify for the “exemptions” the former minister said will be included.