Business & Technology
Public sector urged to put data provenance at AI core
Butterfly Data has urged public sector organisations to put data provenance at the centre of AI development, arguing that the issue goes beyond conventional data quality work.
Maja Strawinska, a data scientist at Butterfly Data, said teams often assume cleaner data will resolve concerns about fairness, accuracy and governance. But even a well-structured dataset may be unsuitable for AI if organisations cannot explain where it came from, why it was collected, and whether it can lawfully and appropriately be reused.
She drew a distinction between clean data and trustworthy data, particularly in the public sector, where automated systems can affect access to services and care. In that context, the history of a dataset matters as much as its format or completeness.
At the centre of her argument was a simple question: can organisations explain the origin of the information they use? That means knowing who collected it, under what conditions, for what purpose, and whether those circumstances create risks for its current use.
Source matters
To illustrate the point, Strawinska compared data provenance with the farm-to-table approach in food. In both cases, trust depends not only on the end product, but on a clear account of the supply chain behind it.
This carries particular weight in the public sector, where many datasets have built up over time through legacy systems and older processes. Data may later be migrated, standardised and corrected, but those technical improvements do not answer questions about the original basis for its collection or the terms under which it may now be used.
“The important question we need to ask is simple: where did this data actually come from?” Strawinska said.
The issue also extends to compliance and oversight. Provenance, she argued, should not be treated as a narrow technical matter, but as a core part of responsible AI, with direct relevance to data protection obligations and growing scrutiny from regulators and oversight bodies.
Her comments reflect a wider shift in AI governance, especially in government and public services, where organisations are increasingly expected to explain not just what a model does, but the foundations on which it was built. In that context, a data audit trail becomes part of the case for deploying an AI system at all.
Limits of cleaning
Strawinska said standard data quality work has clear value, from removing duplicates to standardising formats, but it cannot solve every problem. Data collected without valid consent, or for a different purpose, does not become appropriate for a new use simply because it has been cleaned and validated.
She used the analogy of food grown in contaminated soil to make that point. A vegetable can be washed and prepared, she said, but still remain unsafe because of what happened at source. The same logic applies to datasets whose origins create legal, ethical or representational problems.
This may be especially acute for public bodies managing information gathered over decades. Some data was collected before current data protection standards took shape, creating a challenge for organisations seeking to apply modern AI methods to old records.
Bias earlier
Strawinska also raised concerns about the point at which bias enters a system. Debate about AI bias often focuses on model outputs and fairness testing, but distortions may begin much earlier, during the collection and assembly of training data.
If a dataset over-represents certain demographics, regions or periods, the resulting model may reflect those imbalances. She cited examples such as systems trained mainly on urban data that may perform poorly in rural settings, or systems built on data from an unusual period of demand that may fail when conditions return to normal.
For public services, she argued, these limitations should be identified before deployment rather than after the fact. Provenance helps organisations assess how representative a dataset really is and where its gaps may lie.
Audit trail
The challenge grows as AI systems become larger and draw on more sources. The more data that is used, Strawinska said, the harder it becomes to maintain a clear account of who handled it, how it changed, and whether those changes introduced distortions.
She argued that organisations that build provenance tracking into projects from the outset will be better placed when they face auditors, oversight committees and public scrutiny. In the public sector, the ability to explain those decisions is closely tied to trust in how AI is used.
“Data provenance – the ability to trace where data came from, who handled it and how it has changed – is often seen as a niche technical topic. It isn’t. It is at the heart of what responsible AI requires,” Strawinska said.
Your.Cloud has acquired Pure Cloud Solutions, expanding its presence in the UK market.
Pure Cloud Solutions is a managed IT and telecoms provider based in Tamworth. It serves businesses across the West Midlands and elsewhere in the UK and Europe, and will continue to trade under its existing name with its current team and leadership.
The acquisition adds another UK business to a group that operates through more than 40 companies across several European countries. Your.Cloud employs about 1,500 people and generates annual turnover of more than €350 million.
Your.Cloud backs local managed service providers while allowing them to keep their brands and customer relationships. Pure Cloud Solutions will continue to be led by Chief Executive Officer Jamie Lake.
The Tamworth company was founded in 1990 by Martin Lake and Darren Lake. It began in telephony and structured cabling before expanding into cloud, connectivity and managed IT services over more than three decades.
UK expansion
The deal is part of Your.Cloud’s push to build a broader managed services business in the UK and Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed.
For Pure Cloud Solutions, the acquisition comes as demand in the IT services market continues to shift, particularly around cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. The company said day-to-day customer relationships would remain unchanged after it joins the group.
Jamie Lake, Chief Executive Officer of Pure Cloud Solutions, said: “We’ve spent over 35 years building something we’re proud of – a business that genuinely knows its clients and delivers without the nonsense. Joining Your.Cloud lets us keep doing exactly that, while giving us the backing to move faster and offer more. The market is changing quickly, particularly around AI and cybersecurity, and being part of the Your.Cloud group gives us the platform to stay ahead of it. Nothing changes for our clients in terms of who they deal with – but a lot more becomes possible.”
Local model
Your.Cloud has built its business through a decentralised model focused on acquiring and supporting managed service providers in local markets. Those businesses keep their identities while drawing on shared expertise and resources across the group.
That approach has helped it build a network of companies serving more than 25,000 businesses across Europe in areas including workspace, security, infrastructure and connectivity. Pure Cloud Solutions now joins that portfolio as Your.Cloud seeks to expand further in the UK.
Nils Vermeulen, who oversees the TICTS segment at the group, said Pure Cloud Solutions fits the type of business Your.Cloud wants to add in the market. He cited its customer relationships and management team as key reasons for the acquisition.
Nils Vermeulen, General Manager of the TICTS Segment at Your.Cloud, said: “Jamie and his team have built a genuinely strong business – one with deep client relationships and a clear sense of what good service looks like. That’s exactly the kind of business we look to partner with. Pure Cloud Solutions’ track record and entrepreneurial leadership make them a valuable addition as we continue to expand across the UK. We’re delighted to welcome them to the group.”
CV-Library has published UK survey findings showing that 35% of recruiters say AI tools are causing them to miss out on strong candidates. The study also found that 27% believe strong applications are filtered out before interview.
The research is based on responses from 424 recruiters and employers and 1,067 candidates across the UK.
The figures highlight growing concern about automated screening in recruitment as employers handle larger volumes of applications. More than four in five recruiters, 83%, use AI to speed up hiring, while 28% use it to manage high application numbers.
Even so, recruiters appear unconvinced by some of the outcomes. Just 36% said AI improves speed-to-hire, while 20% reported an overall decline in candidate quality where AI is used.
Candidate frustration
Among jobseekers, 53% said they believe their application has been rejected by AI without any human review. Another 46% said unfair rejection is one of their biggest frustrations when looking for work.
The findings suggest this frustration is changing behaviour. CV-Library found that 40% of jobseekers have abandoned, or considered abandoning, an application because AI was used in the process, particularly when bots were deployed for screening.
One candidate described automated interviewing in stark terms. “Being interviewed by an AI bot felt incredibly alienating – there’s no feedback or human interaction, so you have no idea how you’re coming across. It feels like you’re being filtered out, and with so little real communication, it’s easy for the effort you put in to be completely overlooked,” said David, a part-time bartender.
Younger applicants were the most sceptical about the technology. Nearly two-thirds of Gen Z respondents, 64%, said they suspect AI is responsible for rejecting them at early stages of hiring, compared with lower levels among older age groups.
Gen Z was also the group most likely to cite unfair rejection as a frustration, at 53%, compared with 47% of Millennials and 46% of Gen X respondents.
Another jobseeker said AI had become difficult to avoid in the hiring process. “I stayed away from initial interviews with AI platforms – there’s no human interaction and it’s entirely impersonal. But now AI is in human calls too, taking notes during interviews. After three months without a job, what am I supposed to do? If AI is going to be a gatekeeper, I may as well use it to help me get through those gates,” said Simon.
Limits of AI
The survey suggests recruiters see clearer benefits from AI in administrative tasks than in assessing applicants themselves. Respondents said the technology performs best when writing job descriptions, cited by 63%, and handling tasks such as interview scheduling, cited by 38%.
Confidence fell sharply when recruiters were asked about more subjective parts of hiring. Some 72% said AI struggles to identify cultural fit, while 55% said it performs poorly at assessing soft skills.
That gap appears central to the headline finding that employers may be losing suitable candidates despite wider use of automated systems. The study suggests that speed and scale remain the main reasons for adoption, but recruiters still see a need for human judgement when reviewing applications and assessing people.
Lee Biggins, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of CV-Library, said: “Candidates have long felt that the human touch is ebbing away from the hiring process and that good people are getting screened out unfairly. This insight from recruiters in both agencies and businesses suggests their frustrations may be justified.
“It’s a timely wake-up call that not everything should be outsourced to AI, especially in recruitment where every candidate is unique. It can add value by automating some laborious processes, but good recruiters are using it to support human intuition, not replace it.”
CV-Library also set out steps for employers using AI in recruitment, including human oversight, clearer communication with candidates about where AI is used, and regular audits of tools to check for errors or bias. It said employers should keep automated systems focused on administrative work and leave final judgement on skills, personality and fit to recruiters and hiring managers.
The findings were also supported by case studies from jobseekers who agreed to share their experiences of AI-led hiring.
The UK’s biggest grocer described the move as “one of the most revolutionary retailing improvements in decades” which would give customers access to a host of information about products via their smartphones.
QR codes will be applied to the packaging of 13 lines of Tesco’s own-brand sausages including Tesco Pork Sausages, Tesco Pork Chipolatas, Tesco British Pork Sausage Meat as well as British Cumberland Sausages and British Lincolnshire Sausages.
The codes can be used to provide additional product information to customers such as nutritional content, with shoppers being able to use them to access recipes and competitions.
Tesco said adopting the new codes would give it better information about products in stores, helping it to order more accurately and improve efficiency, reducing unnecessary waste.
In the event of product recalls, QR codes will allow retailers to identify specific batches instead of removing all items, avoiding throwing products away unnecessarily and improving availability.
Retailers will also be able to block the sale of affected items at the till and contact customers who may have purchased them.
It is part of a wider industry shift led by GS1, the global body responsible for barcode standards, which has set a target for retailers and manufacturers to be ready to accept QR codes.
Tesco development and change director Peter Draper said: “For customers, this is a tiny and almost invisible change at the checkout, but for the retail industry it’s a significant step forward.
“Moving to QR codes will help us reduce food waste, improve stock control and unlock new digital benefits for our customers.
“Customers will continue to shop and pay in exactly the same way, but they’ll have the option to access far richer information about the products they buy simply by using their smartphones.
“Over time, this opens up exciting possibilities, such as personalised digital tools to help customers manage the food they buy and reduce waste at home.”
Anne Godfrey, chief executive of GS1 UK, added: “Tesco moving to QR codes powered by GS1 across an entire range marks a significant step forward for UK retail.
“It shows how the next generation of barcodes can support a more connected, transparent future. We hope this progress encourages others to follow Tesco’s lead so that consumers and businesses alike can benefit from richer, more trusted product information.”
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