Working of algorithms used in government decision-making to be revealed

Cabinet Office announces new standard for tools that influence exam results, housing benefit allocations and pothole repairs

Ministers and public bodies must reveal the architecture behind algorithms that influence exam results, housing benefit allocations and pothole repairs, under new transparency standards.

The UK government has published a transparency standard for algorithms, the series of instructions that a computer follows to complete a task or produce a single outcome. Algorithms have become the focus of increasing controversy, whether through their role in deciding A-level results last year or making decisions about benefit claims.