Leeds Libraries

https://www.leeds.gov.uk/libraries · 47/92 checks passed · libraries

Compliance report (framework 0.8)

Gate passed (every Core check must pass) · not counted towards the gate: paused 35, draft 48, ready for review 54.

Site level: 0 (no scored checks yet).

By level

LevelResult
Level 1 — Basic 28/37 (9 failed)
Level 2 — Enhanced 8/27 (19 failed)
Level 3 — Advanced 1/10 (8 failed)

By category

CategoryResult
Accessibility 11/13
Accountability 4/5
AI & Automation 3/8
Interoperability 1/3
Privacy 9/16
Provenance 0/2
Security 6/11
Transparency 3/13
Responsibility to the Future 0/3

Level 1 — Basic

Accessibility

AI & Automation

FAIL AI use policy in place
  • policy_exists: The page content contains no AI use policy or statement anywhere in the visible text or linked policies.
    Fix: Publish an AI use policy (e.g., under 'Our Policies') that clearly states the council's position on AI use across library services.
  • scope_clear: No AI-related content is present, so there is no explanation of what AI is used for.
    Fix: Include a section in the AI policy describing specific use cases such as chatbots, search, recommendations, or back-office automation.

Privacy

Security

Transparency

FAIL Statement of purpose present
  • purpose_clear: The visible content contains no descriptive text explaining what the libraries service does.
    Fix: Add introductory text on the About page summarising the purpose and services of Leeds Libraries.
FAIL Funding/sponsorship disclosure
  • disclosure_exists: The page contains no funding or sponsorship disclosure, only navigation, contact, and policy links.
    Fix: Add a funding disclosure section or link on the About page identifying how the libraries service is funded.
  • transparent: No funding sources are identified anywhere on the page content shown.
    Fix: Clearly name funding sources (e.g., council tax, government grants, donations) in a dedicated funding statement.

Level 2 — Enhanced

Accessibility

Accountability

FAIL Named responsible person
  • named_person: The page only refers generically to 'us' and 'Leeds City Council' without naming a specific person or role responsible for contact.
    Fix: Identify a named officer, team, or role (e.g., 'Customer Services Manager') accountable for handling enquiries on the contact page.

AI & Automation

FAIL Published AI use policy (detailed)
  • detailed_scope: The page lacks any AI policy, so no detailed scope of AI use is provided.
    Fix: Add a detailed scope section enumerating systems, data inputs, and decisions where AI is applied in library services.
  • limitations: There is no acknowledgement of AI limitations because no AI policy is present on the page.
    Fix: Include a 'Limitations' subsection that acknowledges risks such as inaccuracy, bias, and inappropriate contexts for AI use.
  • safeguards: No safeguards or quality controls are described since the page contains no AI-related content.
    Fix: Document safeguards such as human review, data protection measures, audit processes, and escalation routes for AI outputs.
FAIL AI-assisted content clearly marked
  • marking_policy: The page contains no policy or statement about how AI-assisted content is marked or disclosed.
    Fix: Publish a clear policy (e.g., in Our Policies) describing how AI-assisted content is identified and labelled on the site.
  • consistent: With no visible AI marking policy, there is no evidence of consistent labelling of AI-generated content on the page.
    Fix: Adopt a consistent visual or textual label for AI-assisted content and apply it uniformly across all pages.
FAIL Human oversight of AI documented
  • oversight_exists: The page does not document any human oversight process for AI outputs.
    Fix: Add a statement describing how staff review and oversee any AI-generated content before publication.
  • review_process: No review or approval process for AI content is described on the page.
    Fix: Document the review/approval workflow for AI content within the site's policies section.
  • accountability: No individual, role, or team is identified as accountable for AI-generated content.
    Fix: Name a responsible role or team (e.g., editorial lead) accountable for AI content and include their contact details.

Interoperability

Privacy

FAIL Plain language data practices
  • understandable: The visible page only provides section headings and summaries; the actual explanation of what data is collected and why is not present on this page.
    Fix: Include a brief plain-language summary on the main privacy page explaining the categories of data collected and the purposes, before linking to detailed sub-pages.
FAIL Data collection limited to necessity
  • necessity: The visible content does not state that data collection is limited to what is necessary.
    Fix: Add an explicit statement on the main privacy page that the council only collects personal data that is necessary for the specified purposes.
  • proportionate: There is no statement on this page indicating that data collected is proportionate to the service provided.
    Fix: Include a clear principle-level statement that data collection is proportionate to each service's purpose, ideally aligned with UK GDPR data minimisation.
FAIL Published data retention periods
  • retention_stated: The visible page does not mention data retention periods at all.
    Fix: Add a dedicated retention section (or link) on the main privacy page stating how long personal data is kept for each processing purpose.
  • specific: No specific retention timeframes are provided on the page.
    Fix: Publish a retention schedule with concrete periods (e.g., 'council tax records kept for 7 years') rather than vague commitments.
FAIL No dark patterns in consent flows
  • equal_choices: The page content shown does not display any consent interface with visible accept and reject options to evaluate for equal prominence.
    Fix: Ensure the cookie consent banner presents 'Accept' and 'Reject' buttons with equal visual weight, size, color, and placement.
FAIL Cookie banner partner disclosure
  • partner_sharing_mentioned: The banner only mentions storing cookies for site navigation, usage analysis, and marketing efforts, with no disclosure of data sharing with third-party partners.
    Fix: Update the cookie banner copy to explicitly disclose whether data is shared with third-party partners (e.g., analytics or advertising vendors) and link to a detailed cookie/partner list.
  • partner_count_specific: No numeric count of partners is stated anywhere in the banner or on-page consent copy.
    Fix: Include a specific number of third-party partners (e.g., 'We share data with X partners') in the banner along with a link to the full partner list.

Provenance

FAIL Authorship metadata assessment
  • credentials: No background information on Leeds City Council or the libraries service is provided on this page to establish credentials.
    Fix: Add a brief organisational background section describing Leeds City Council's role and the libraries service's remit and expertise.

Security

Transparency

FAIL Named responsible person in contact
  • named_person: No named individual or specific team is identified for enquiries—the page only references the generic 'Leeds City Council'.
    Fix: Add the name of the specific team (e.g., 'Contact Centre' or 'Customer Services Team') and, where possible, a named lead responsible for enquiries.
  • role_clear: Because no person or team is named, their role or authority to handle enquiries is not stated on the page.
    Fix: Alongside the named team, clearly describe their role and authority (e.g., 'Our Customer Services Team handles all general enquiries and routes them to the appropriate department').
FAIL Substantive statement of purpose
  • substantive: There is no substantive statement of purpose visible, only navigation and contact details.
    Fix: Write a detailed About section describing the mission, services, and values of Leeds Libraries.
  • mission_clear: No mission or editorial approach is articulated anywhere on the page.
    Fix: Add a clearly labelled mission statement describing the aims and guiding principles of the library service.
FAIL Funding disclosed with detail
  • detail: There are no amounts, percentages, or categories of funding described on the page.
    Fix: Publish a breakdown of funding with categories and approximate percentages or amounts for each source.
  • complete: With no disclosure present, there is no coverage of any funding streams, let alone all major ones.
    Fix: Provide a complete disclosure covering all major streams such as council budget allocations, grants, donations, and any sponsorships.
FAIL Governance structure disclosed
  • governance_exists: The page only shows navigation links and contact details with no description of governance or editorial structure for the libraries service.
    Fix: Add a dedicated governance section on the About page describing how the library service is managed, overseen, and how editorial decisions are made.
  • roles_clear: No key roles, staff positions, or responsibilities are identified anywhere in the visible page content.
    Fix: List key roles (e.g., Head of Libraries, editorial leads, board members) with their responsibilities on the About page.
FAIL Algorithm explanation if applicable
  • algorithm_explained: The page contains only navigation and contact information with no mention of any algorithms or their purpose.
    Fix: Add a dedicated section or page explaining any algorithms used by library services (e.g., recommendations, catalogue search ranking) and their purpose.
  • impact_clear: There is no description of how algorithmic decisions affect library users on this page.
    Fix: Publish a clear statement describing how algorithmic outputs influence user experiences such as search results or recommendations.
FAIL Annual data practices statement
  • annual_statement: The page only links to a generic Privacy page in the footer with no visible evidence of an annual or periodic review of data practices.
    Fix: Add a statement on the Privacy page indicating when data practices were last reviewed and committing to a regular (e.g. annual) review cycle.
  • dated: No date or version number is shown for any privacy or data practices statement on this page.
    Fix: Display a 'last updated' date or version number on the Privacy/data practices statement and surface it from linked pages.

Level 3 — Advanced

Accessibility

FAIL Published accessibility statement
  • feedback_channel: The statement provides a feedback email (webmaster@leeds.gov.uk) but states no timeframe for when users can expect a response.
    Fix: Add an explicit response-time commitment, such as a stated number of working days within which the council will respond to accessibility feedback.

Accountability

Interoperability

Security

FAIL Incident response plan published
  • plan_exists: The page shows only general navigation and contact links with no published incident response plan or security policy.
    Fix: Publish a dedicated incident response plan or security policy and link to it from the site's policy or accessibility section.
  • notification_commitment: There is no statement committing to public notification of significant security or data incidents anywhere on the page.
    Fix: Add explicit language committing to notify the public and affected users when significant incidents occur.
  • timeframe: The page contains no stated timeframe for disclosing incidents to affected users.
    Fix: Specify a concrete disclosure timeframe (e.g., notify affected users within 72 hours of confirming a breach) in the incident response policy.

Transparency

FAIL Algorithmic decision criteria published
  • criteria_published: No criteria for any algorithmic decision-making are published on the page.
    Fix: Publish the specific input criteria used by any algorithmic systems on a transparency or policy page.
  • weighting: The page does not explain weighting or priority of any decision criteria.
    Fix: Document and publish how different criteria are weighted or prioritised in any algorithmic decisions.
  • auditable: The page provides no technical or procedural detail that would allow external audit or review of algorithms.
    Fix: Publish an algorithm register or technical documentation sufficient for independent review and audit.
FAIL Open source code or tech docs
  • open_source: The page does not link to any public source code repository.
    Fix: If appropriate, publish and link to source code (e.g., a GitHub repository) for any in-house developed components.
  • tech_docs: No technical documentation is referenced or linked from this page.
    Fix: Publish technical documentation (such as APIs or data standards used) and link it from the About or Policies section.

Responsibility to the Future

FAIL Environmental / sustainability disclosure
  • hosting_disclosure: The page discusses operational and city-wide emissions but says nothing about the carbon or energy profile of its website hosting infrastructure.
    Fix: Add a statement disclosing the website's hosting energy source or carbon footprint, for example whether the site is hosted on renewable-powered or green data centres.
FAIL Succession and continuity plan
  • plan_exists: The page shows only general navigation and policy links with no published succession or exit plan for organisational failure.
    Fix: Publish a clearly linked succession/continuity plan describing what happens if the library service or its digital operation ceases.
  • data_and_content_fate: Nothing on the page addresses the fate of user data or published content in the event of service closure.
    Fix: Add a documented statement explaining how user data and published content would be preserved, transferred, or deleted if the service ends.
  • custodians_or_mirrors: No custodians, mirrors, or archive partners are identified anywhere in the visible content.
    Fix: Name specific custodians, mirror sites, or archive partners (e.g., a national or local archive) responsible for content continuity.
FAIL Worker wellbeing policy
  • policy_exists: The page shows only general navigation links such as 'Our Policies' and 'Sustainability' but contains no published policy on worker wellbeing or working conditions.
    Fix: Publish a dedicated worker wellbeing or working conditions policy and link to it clearly from the About us or Our Policies section.
  • specific_commitments: The page includes no specific commitments regarding pay, hours, mental health, or benefits for workers.
    Fix: Add concrete, measurable commitments on pay, working hours, mental health support, and employee benefits within a worker wellbeing policy.
  • accountability: The page identifies no person, role, or body responsible for overseeing worker conditions.
    Fix: Name a responsible role or oversight body and provide contact details for accountability on worker wellbeing matters.