e-newsletter edition 2

We recently conducted customer satisfaction surveys among individuals and organisations who made written enquiries to us on data protection and freedom of information matters.

The survey was carried out by the independent market research agency, Jigsaw and will allow us to measure how well we are meeting the needs of data controllers, public authorities and individuals.

If you took part in the survey, thank you for taking the time to complete the questionnaire. Your participation will help us to improve the service we provide. The survey results will be published on our website later in the year.

View the customer satisfaction survey questionnaires

Data protection - individuals

Data protection - data controllers

Our annual report was laid before Parliament on 11 July and presented to our stakeholders at a meeting on 12 July. The event was attended by more than 80 people from a wide variety of sectors who had the opportunity to ask Richard Thomas and the deputy commissioners general questions about data protection and freedom of information as well as discussing the details of the report. The report sets out our approach to our responsibilities for data protection and freedom of information and highlights the progress we made and the challenges we faced in 2005-2006.

Read the full report

Read the summary report

Read the media release

In May, the Commissioner invoked powers under the Data Protection Act to present a special report to Parliament calling for prison sentences of up to two years for the illegal buying and selling of personal information.

The report, "What price privacy?" maintains that current penalties are an insufficient deterrent to people such as private investigators and tracing agents, many of whom have built successful businesses illegally obtaining and trading in bank details, current addresses, ex-directory telephone numbers and criminal records.

The Commissioner said: "People care about their privacy and have a right to expect that their personal details should remain secure from those with no right to see them. "

"Low penalties devalue this serious data protection offence in the public mind and mask the seriousness of the crime, even within the judicial system. They do little to deter those who seek to buy or supply private information that should remain private."

A follow-up paper highlighting the progress of the proposals will be published in the winter of 2006.

Francis Aldhouse, Deputy Information Commissioner until his retirement in January this year, was made a Commander of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for 2006. Francis' award recognises his outstanding contribution to data protection during his 21 years at the Information Commissioner's Office.

Francis was at the forefront of the regulatory approach adopted by the Commissioner's Office, which included provision of guidance to organisations and individuals, enforcement action and complaint handling. He also led policy and legislative debates, including consultations on the application of the EU Data Protection Directive.

Richard Thomas said "Francis was widely recognised, domestically and internationally, as the UK's leading expert on data protection and he dominated the subject for some 21 years. Many millions of ordinary people are the real beneficiaries of Francis's efforts and I am delighted that the contribution he made has been recognised by this award."

Complaints relating to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) now account for more than a quarter of our data protection casework.

Despite advances in technology, the majority of complaints are still about faxes and phone calls. We have called for greater powers to tackle irresponsible electronic marketing.

PECR Information Tribunal ruling

The UK Information Tribunal has upheld the Information Commissioner's view on political parties making unsolicited calls to members of the public. The ruling follows the Scottish National Party's use of a recorded message by Sir Sean Connery in which people were urged to vote SNP in the 2005 General Election.

The tribunal upheld the view that political parties appealing for funds or support should be subject to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003.

These forbid unsolicited live voice marketing calls to numbers registered on the Telephone Preference Service and wholly automated unsolicited marketing calls to any subscriber who has not consented to them.

The Commissioner served an enforcement notice against the SNP after the party made a large number of calls to Scottish households in the run-up to the 2005 election.

View the tribunal's ruling

The European Court of Justice has annulled an agreement made between the European Commission and the US Government over the provision of passenger information by airlines.

The court found that because the transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data was for law enforcement purposes it was not therefore covered by the Data Protection Directive. The annulment has been delayed until 30 September to give time for the Commission to find another legal basis.

We are currently working closely with EU colleagues to ensure that passenger data is properly protected and that airlines have a clear understanding of the basis on which they can disclose passenger data to foreign authorities. There will be no immediate impact on the flow of passenger data or on data protection compliance by UK airlines.

Following a large number of complaints from individuals, the Commissioner issued an enforcement notice, ordering the website b4usearch.com to stop using personal information from electoral registers published before 2002, after finding the site in breach of the Data Protection Act.

We issued an enforcement notice against the website, which offers a free 'people search' facility, after receiving over 2000 complaints about the site.

Following an investigation, we found that the personal information used by the website did not comply with the first principle of the Data Protection Act. This principle states that all personal information should be processed fairly and lawfully. The ICO also found that damage or distress to individuals was likely to have been caused by information being processed in this way.

We take breaches of the Data Protection Act very seriously. As this case demonstrates, we will take action against organisations that don't process personal information in line with the requirements of the Act and cause significant concern to individuals. People have an important right under the Data Protection Act to know that their personal information is sufficiently protected.

We will now investigate other companies using pre-2002 electoral register information in similar circumstances.

The attached factsheet provides more information on the use of personal information available on the electoral roll: Use of personal information available on the electoral roll factsheet.

View the Enforcement Notice.

Our good practice note series of user-friendly guides designed to make data protection simpler now contains 13 pieces of guidance and more are planned in the coming months. Topics covered to date include electronic mail marketing, right of access to examination records, taking photos in schools, marketing by charities and the buying and selling of customer databases. The latest piece of guidance is aimed at firms of tied agents and independent financial advisers.

New guides aiming to address everyday privacy and data protection concerns for individuals are also being developed. These will be called "It's Your Information" and the first in the series, dealing with direct marketing, will be launched very soon.

View the series of good practice notes

Protecting personal information and freedom of information are often at the heart of public debate. We are frequently asked to give views on current topics, to comment on developing policy and to respond to public consultations.

Our recent consultation response on the release of vehicle keeper data is outlined below.

The UK vehicle registers contain personal details relating to millions of individuals. This information is available to third parties even though individuals are compelled by law to provide their personal details and have little control over who these details may be disclosed to.

We have had concerns for some time about the circumstances in which some disclosures occur. The review was a welcome opportunity to take stock of the current situation and to reappraise the propriety of disclosure arrangements based on experience so far and to look ahead to anticipated pressures for wider use of the registers.

View the full consultation response

We are encouraging data controllers in the public sector to seek recognition for their work in data protection by applying for a prestigious European best practice award. Judges for the award made by the Data Protection Agency of Madrid (APDCM) are looking for evidence of excellence in the application of internationally recognised data protection principles.

Applications must be received before 5 October and winners will be announced later in the year. Further information is available from the Data Protection Agency of Madrid apdcm@madrid.org

View the media release

We will host the 28th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners in London on 2 and 3 November after Argentina had to withdraw as organiser of the event.

The conference is an annual event that brings together over 300 data protection and privacy commissioners from around the world, with other international delegates from a variety of industries, to discuss privacy and data protection issues.

The theme of this year's conference is "A Surveillance Society?" It will look at the increase in information gathering and sharing by both the public and private sector in recent years, as well as how political, technological and legal developments are shaping the trend towards a surveillance society.

The debate will focus on broader policy principles rather than the detail of existing legislation. More information about the conference will be published soon.

We are adopting a new approach to the handling of freedom of information complaints to speed up procedures and to ensure that formal action is taken only in appropriate cases.

Decision Notices will be issued only where they serve a practical purpose and more emphasis will be placed on encouraging public authorities to give advice and help to complainants. All breaches of the Freedom of Information Act, including those where failure to comply has already been rectified, will continue to be taken seriously.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner will adopt a more robust approach to the small number of local authorities that are obstructive or fail to respond in a timely manner. Details of all complaints will be recorded whether or not they result in a decision notice and, when considering whether to take formal action against a public authority, previous complaints will be taken into consideration.

View the new guidance

A publication scheme is a commitment by a public authority under freedom of information legislation to make certain information available. It also acts as a guide to how that information can be obtained.

Following a review which revealed low awareness of the schemes among public authorities, we have now published a new policy to give clearer guidance on their content and practical operation.

Public authorities will have to submit their schemes for re-approval between 1 June and 31 December 2008 though they will still be required to meet their continuing legal duties in relation to existing schemes.

Between now and then we will work closely with representatives from all sectors to produce clear guidance on classes of information, on the means of access to information and on the promotion of publication schemes.

View the new policy

The Commissioner served a single enforcement notice relating to the Attorney General's advice on the legality of military intervention in Iraq. The notice, served on the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, requires the disclosure of some but not all of the information that had been requested under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Commissioner ordered that a disclosure statement be published containing the substance of information which led to, or supported, the views made public by the Attorney General in his statement to Parliament on 17 March 2003. The notice did not require the publication of information which was preliminary, provisional or tentative or which may reveal legal risks, reservations or possible counter-risks.

View the press release

View recent decision notices

During the first quarter of the financial year 2006/2007 we received 648 complaints under the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations.

• 743 cases were resolved;
• 82 Decision Notices were issued; and
• 17 appeals were received by the Information Tribunal in this period.

In May, we hosted the fourth Freedom of Information International Conference of Information Commissioners in Manchester.

Richard Thomas provided an overview of how the Freedom of Information Act had worked in its first year in the UK, highlighting the benefits it had brought both to public authorities and to the public.

Lord Falconer gave a keynote speech at the event, which allowed information commissioners to share experiences of freedom of information legislation from around the world.

Other speakers included John Belgrave, the New Zealand Commissioner, who dealt with issues of secrecy versus security, and Daniel Metcalfe, Director at the Office of Information and Privacy in the US Department of Justice.

Users of the Act, academics and other interested parties joined the commissioners on the second day to explore freedom of information issues from the perspective or users of the Act.

Read Lord Falconer's speech

A report by the Constitutional Affairs Committee on the progress of the Freedom of Information Act said the legislation was effective and had led to the release of significant and valuable information.

The committee also stated that the ICO's performance on complaints resolution during 2005 had not been satisfactory. MPs were not convinced that enough resources had been allocated to tackle the backlog of complaints and said they would be looking closely at the Commissioner's progress report due in September this year.

The committee welcomed the Commissioner's commitment to adopt a firmer approach to enforcement among public authorities and called on the DCA and the Commissioner to work together to improve response times.

Richard Thomas said: "Our own performance has improved since 2005; we are now closing more cases than we receive each month and issuing a steady stream of formal decisions on issues of substance. "

"Although we received part of the additional funding we requested from the government, we note the committee remains unconvinced that we have adequate resources."

View full report

Following feedback from users, we are redeveloping our website to improve the content and navigation and make it much more user friendly. We will launch our new site in September 2006.

Watch this space...

The new website will include a change to the e-newsletter subscription system. We will send you an email inviting you to re-subscribe to the e-newsletter once the new site has been launched.

We welcome your comments on the second issue of our e-newsletter. If you have any comments or suggestions please e-mail websitefeedback@ico.gsi.gov.uk

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