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Data protection: public consultation into data sharing
08 January 2008
Data protection law is not often headline news. The recent
high profile losses of personal information being shared by various
public authorities – most notably the loss by HMRC of the personal
information of 25 million people whilst en route to another public
authority – has, however, put an end to that. Richard Thomas,
who heads the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) (that
oversees and enforces the Data Protection Act) summed up the
sea-change that needs to take place:
“Twenty five million records going missing
from the HMRC is one of the most significant breaches in the
history of data protection. This incident and its aftermath mark a
turning point for data protection in the UK…The UK Data Protection
Act provides the framework to handle personal information
correctly. …the onus is on every organisation - and every leader
within that body - to ensure there are clear lines of
accountability to stop things from going badly wrong.”
What’s in this public consultation
document?
The release by the Ministry of Justice of the
public consultation document on the use and sharing of personal
information in the public and private sectors is therefore
very timely. The consultation, which ends on 15 February, is
in the form of a questionnaire and any organisation may
respond. It asks for views on a number of key areas,
including:
- The benefits of information sharing
- Actual or perceived problems with information sharing
- The effectiveness of the current framework under the Data
Protection Act 1998 for the sharing of personal information
- What further powers, safeguards and sanctions should be
included in the Data Protection Act 1998
The consultation document notes that not all
of these questions will be of relevance to all respondents. Your
organisation may still submit a response by answering those
questions that are most relevant to it.
Why might my organisation want to
respond to the consultation document?
In addition to your organisation’s right to
respond to the public consultation, the document has been sent to a
broad spectrum of organisations from public authorities (who
regularly share personal information as part of their statutory
functions) through to pressure groups and campaign bodies.
With the types of questions noted above in
mind, it seems likely that the responses will shape any proposed
changes to the Data Protection Act 1998. It is key that the
Ministry of Justice receives views as to why fair and lawful
sharing of certain personal information is often key to public
authorities’ successful fulfilment of their statutory
obligations. Your organisation may well be best placed to
inform the debate on this. Likewise, your organisation may
also have had experience of areas where information sharing
conflicts with the rights and freedoms of individuals. These
experiences are no less important to inform the debate.
How can my organisation respond to the
public consultation?
The Ministry of Justice have provided a
response form which your organisation can use. This can be
found at http://www.justice.gov.uk/
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The content of this bulletin is provided for the purposes of
general interest and information. It contains only brief summaries
of aspects of the subject matter and does not provide comprehensive
statements of the law. It does not constitute legal advice and does
not provide a substitute for it.