UK Government should establish a national taskforce to urgently reform local government procurement of AI

• New research finds significant challenges for local government procurement of AI.
• Effective procurement is essential for the responsible use of AI in the public interest, but major changes are needed.
• Fixed-term, collaborative national taskforce should be established to help deliver urgent reforms.

The UK Government should establish a National Taskforce for Procurement of AI in Local Government to bring together diverse perspectives and redesign the procurement landscape for AI in the public interest, according to the Ada Lovelace Institute.

Building on a previous analysis of existing procurement guidance and legislation, the new report draws on the experiences and perspectives of a diverse range of stakeholders, including local and central government, tech companies, regulators, academia and civil society.

The research identifies a number of significant problems affecting the ability of local government procurers to effectively buy AI technologies, including confusing guidance and legislation, data challenges, uncertainty about how AI works and how it can be used, and imbalances between local government and a private sector often dominated by monopolies.

To ensure holistic, joined-up reforms – rather than siloed or piecemeal changes – the report calls for a National Taskforce for Procurement of AI in Local Government, a fixed-term body that would bring together experts from across the public and private sectors to develop and test practical solutions. The report recommend the taskforce should start with:

• Ensuring that regulatory and legislative documents are clear, consistent and practicable.
• Gathering evidence on and setting metrics of success for procuring and deploying AI in local government.
• Creating robust governance structures, contract templates and assessment frameworks that strengthen bargaining positions and minimise reliance on private suppliers.
• Design and recommend a suite of specific skills and training for local government procuring bodies to be able to critically engage with AI technologies and the claims made by suppliers.

Imogen Parker, Associate Director at the Ada Lovelace Institute, said: 

However, recent examples such as the Post Office’s Horizon have raised questions about how equipped the public sector is to procure new technologies like AI.

‘Our research confirms these concerns first-hand and paints a picture of a procurement landscape that is holding local government back from using the transformative potential of AI to deliver genuine benefits for people and society.

‘Private sector technologies are rapidly being rolled out across the public sector, but without a joined-up approach and with little oversight or transparency.

‘This is why we’re calling for a national taskforce to bring together a broad cross-section of perspectives and expertise to help deliver urgent reforms that will ensure local government procurement is fit for the AI era.’

Mavis Machirori, Senior Researcher at the Ada Lovelace Institute and lead author, said:

‘Our research reveals the enormous burden and barriers currently being faced by local government when trying to procure AI systems.

‘If we want to use AI in the public sector to deliver real-world benefits for people and society, then we need to urgently turn our attention towards procurement as a key part of this ambitious agenda.

‘The AI moment we are living through demands a serious rethink of how the public sector procures and deploys private sector innovation in the public interest, which is why we are calling for a National Taskforce to drive urgent reforms.’