Transparency data

GDS Responsible AI Advisory Panel: Terms of Reference

Published 16 July 2025

Rationale

• Rapid advances in AI make it possible to transform our public services at a faster pace than ever before. DSIT’s newly forged digital centre of government, Government Digital Service (GDS), is designed to be at the heart of this transformation. However, while AI offers ever-expanding possibilities to deliver public services in new and more efficient ways, the adoption of this technology also comes with significant risks. To succeed, the UK must adopt AI in a trustworthy way, building transparency, responsibility and accountability into everything we do.
• Building AI responsibly requires bringing together views from across the public sector, industry, academia and civil society to ensure that our approach is built on best practice and expert advice.
• The Blueprint for Modern Digital Government committed to creating a Responsible AI Advisory Panel to bring together this insight and provide expert strategic advice to senior officials and ministers on the responsible use of AI in GDS and across government.

Purpose, scope and remit

• The objectives of the Responsible AI Advisory Panel (The panel) are:

  • To provide expert strategic advice to senior officials and ministers in the Department for Science and Technology (DSIT) on the responsible use of AI in GDS and across government.
    
  • To inform GDS on best practice for developing Responsible AI
  • To provide constructive challenge and scrutiny on government’s approach to developing responsible AI products
  • To identify the most important areas for government to receive advice and guidance on Responsible AI on
    

• The panel will sit within and provide advice to GDS, reporting directly to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for AI and Digital Government.

• The panel is an informal stakeholder group and as such is advisory only, and members will not provide any executive function. Advice given by the panel to the government is not binding, and the implementation of any recommendations given by the panel shall be subject to the discretion of DSIT and its ministers.

• The scope of the panel is limited to the overall approach government takes to building AI in a responsible way. Through this, all activity to develop and deploy AI across GDS and across the UK government is within the scope of this panel. Digital technologies beyond AI are not within the scope of this panel.

Membership

• The panel consists of 8-12 invited external panel members, reflecting a balance of expertise from the private sector, academia and civil society, and from a mix of AI-related disciplines.
  
  • Panel members are invited to attend the panel, subject to due diligence checks and baseline personnel security standard (BPSS) checks. Panel members will be expected to follow the Seven Principles of Public Life and are required to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies.
  • Panel members will be expected to provide the equivalent of 1-2 hours per month as part of attending the panel.
  • Panel members will not receive remuneration for their participation on the panel.
• One panel member will act as the panel chair, responsible for convening and directing full panel meeting agendas.
• The Director General for Digital Centre Design, Emily Middleton will attend meetings of the panel as the senior official sponsor for the panel.
• The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for AI and Digital Government, Feryal Clark MP, will attend panel meetings.
• In addition, the full panel meetings may also include participants from government departments affected by GDS’ approach to responsible AI.
• The panel will be supported by a panel secretariat, responsible for providing documentation, writing agendas (in collaboration with the panel members), collecting actions, scheduling meetings and communicating with panel members.

Operation of the panel

• The panel will convene for an initial one year from its initial meeting. External panel members will be invited to participate for a one year term, with the possibility for this term to be extended. At the end of this year, the panel’s activities will be reviewed, with a recommendation for whether to continue its activities presented to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for AI & Digital Government.
• The panel will meet for full meetings at a minimum of once a quarter. The panel will be considered quorate if 6 external panel members are present.

• A short summary report of full meetings will be published on gov.uk to ensure transparency.

• Beyond full meetings, smaller groups of the panel may be called to convene for ad hoc advice or smaller scale meetings, at the discretion of the panel chair, panel secretariat, or senior official sponsor.
• The panel will be responsible for developing its own work programme, identifying and agreeing what are the most critical areas of concern in the area of responsible AI, and where the panel can provide advice and guidance in the most impactful way. This agreement will be subject to discussion with the panel sponsor, the panel chair and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for AI and Digital Government.
• At the end of the panel’s initial one year term, the panel should provide a written report on its findings and key advice to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for AI and Digital Government to summarise its work and the insights it has delivered.
• The panel is able to review government AI projects in detail, providing that they are not of a higher classification than OFFICIAL - SENSITIVE. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for AI and Digital Government will be able to request that AI projects across GDS and wider government bring updates and issues to the panel, for the panel to provide direct scrutiny and advice. This review function is not a standard requirement of AI projects across government.