Justice Secretary Jack Straw had included the data sharing
measures in the Coroners and Justice Bill, but the Ministry of
Justice (MoJ) spokesman said that the plans are being scrapped.
"We have taken on board everybody's criticisms and comments and
decided that it would be better to look at this again," said the
spokesman. "We will now have a public consultation on the
issue."
The Government had proposed relaxing restrictions on the sharing
of information between Government departments, agencies and even
the private sector. It said its aim was to increase Government
efficiency, but the plans were widely criticised.
Data protection campaigners said that the plans increased the
chances of breaches of people's privacy. Privacy watchdog the
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) criticised the proposals
and said that they did not offer people's personal data enough
protection.
"The Bill’s information-sharing provisions are too wide, and its
safeguards relatively weak," said the ICO. "The provisions should
only apply in precisely defined circumstances where there is a
legal barrier to information sharing that would be in the public
interest."
Protests about the plans were lodged by groups representing
doctors, patients, psychiatrists, independent schools and taxi
drivers.
The MoJ spokesman did not give a likely time frame for the
public consultation on new plans or for their introduction.
The ICO had initially said that it did not believe the plans
were a threat to privacy, but later issued a second opinion
containing criticism of the proposals.
It said that it had worries that the data sharing provisions
could be used to change, without going to Parliament, the way that
Government as a whole used and treated information.
"The Bill needs an additional safeguard, to prevent the use of
information-sharing orders in the context of large-scale data
sharing initiatives that would constitute significant changes to
public policy," said the opinion.
Opponents of the move were also concerned that the plans could
have allowed information from the public sector to be shared with
the private sector without the knowledge or consent of the person
who was the subject of the information.
Rosemary Jay, a privacy expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm
behind OUT-LAW.COM, warned when the plans were announced that the
law did not restrict sharing to the public sector.
"It would allow for information to be shared with banks or other
financial institutions. There is no restriction on purpose of the
sharing so for example it would enable the Minister to make an
order empowering the tax authorities to disclose the earnings of
individuals to credit reference agencies," she said.
The MoJ spokesman said that the law was planned after
recommendations made in a Government-ordered review of data sharing
carried out by Dr Mark Walport and Information Commissioner Richard
Thomas. He said, though, that before any more plans are made on
data sharing the Government would go through a public consultation
process.
Disclaimer: We hope you find OUT-LAW’s content useful. It’s prepared by the lawyers at Pinsent Masons. Please remember, though, that it’s intended as general information only. It’s not legal advice. If that’s what you’re seeking, please
contact us. See also: our
full disclaimer
