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Data protection: public consultation into data
sharing
Why a public consultation now?
18 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 www.justice.gov.uk
For more information or advice, please contact
Simon
White or Sarah Erwin-Jones.
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.