Richard Thomas
Information
Commissioner
The newsletter provides a round up of freedom of information and data protection developments and outlines information and guidance available from the ICO.
The Urbis in Manchester
© Ian Lawson Photography
The ICO launched its new website on 28 September 2006 - at the appropriately transparent Urbis in Manchester. We think it offers much-improved content, and makes more information more easily accessible. But we want to know what you think. Have a look - your feedback is welcome.
On 12 October 2006 the ICO held a reception at Parliament Buildings in the Stormont Estate to mark the achievements of the ICO in Northern Ireland in 2005/06. Around 90 guests from across the public and private sector in Northern Ireland attended.
Richard Thomas opened proceedings and underlined the complexity of the cases that the Northern Ireland Regional Office had dealt with during 2005/06 and praised staff for resolving many cases informally due to the good working relationships the office has established with stakeholders.
Mr Andrew McCormick, Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, commented on the change of culture in central government in Northern Ireland over the last two years. He went on to say that the numbers of people attending at a senior level from across the public and private sector in Northern Ireland was an indication of the strong working relationships the Northern Ireland Regional Office has built with stakeholders.
David Lammey, Head of the Central FOI Unit at the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister spoke about the working relationship between his office and ICO in Northern Ireland and ICO's role in briefing Senior Civil Servants on FOI.
Finally ICO assistant commissioner for Northern Ireland, Marie Anderson spoke of being in the business of 'information rights' and the importance of regional offices to the work of the ICO and to local stakeholders. Before closing Marie thanked Arthur Moir, Clerk to the Northern Ireland Assembly, for hosting the event.
The Information Commissioner's Office in Wales is relocating to new premises in the heart of Cardiff Bay.
From this new base we will continue to develop links with Wales based public authorities, private bodies and the general public and engage in activities to raise local awareness of information rights and good practice.
The final move date is to be confirmed but we expect to have fully transferred to our operations to the new office by the middle of November. Please check the Contact Us section of the website for up to date contact details.
New Contact details:
Information Commissioner's Office (Wales)
Cambrian Building
Mount Stuart Square,
Cardiff, CF10 5FL
Tel No. 029 2044 8044
Fax No. 029 2044 8045
Our email address remains the same
Email wales@ico.gsi.gov.uk
The Information Commissioner's Office is consulting on its proposed Welsh Language Scheme. This sets out how the ICO will put into practice the principle that in the conduct of its public business in Wales, the Welsh and English languages will be treated on the basis of equality.
The consultation period will run until 4 December 2006, and comments can be e-mailed to wales@ico.gsi.gov.uk. The consultation paper is available as a hard copy from: Julia Lewis, Welsh Language Scheme Co-ordinator, Information Commissioner's Office (Wales), 2 Alexandra Gate, Ffordd Pengam, Cardiff, CF24 2SA; telephone 029 2089 4929.
The 28th International Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners' Conference took place in London in early November. It was hosted by ICO Richard Thomas who in his opening remarks launched a public debate on the implications of living in a surveillance society. Conference website.
He said, 'Two years ago I warned that we were in danger of sleepwalking into a surveillance society. Today I fear that we are in fact waking up to a surveillance society that is already all around us. Surveillance activities can be well-intentioned and bring benefits. They may be necessary or desirable - for example to fight terrorism and serious crime, to improve entitlement and access to public and private services, and to improve healthcare. But unseen, uncontrolled or excessive surveillance can foster a climate of suspicion and undermine trust. I am keen to start a debate about what is acceptable and what is not?"
Other speakers included:
The conference also marked the publication of 'A Surveillance Society' - a detailed report which was specially commissioned for the conference. It looks at surveillance in 2006 and projects forward ten years to 2016. It describes a surveillance society as one where technology is extensively and routinely used to track and record our activities and movements. The report provides glimpses of life in a surveillance society in 2016, including how:
We are currently revising our approach to the sharing of personal information in the public sector. This is partly in response to the increased emphasis that government is currently placing on the sharing of information, particularly in the public sector. We will be engaging more positively with those involved in information-sharing, helping them to find solutions to their data protection problems and adopting a more enabling approach. Data protection will be enforced in a way that allows public bodies to use personal information to improve the delivery of services and to enhance the protection of the public. Public bodies must be able to process the information they hold in more sophisticated ways, for example to counter the increasingly sophisticated methods that are being used to defraud the public purse.
The Information Commissioner has created the new post of Head of Information Sharing to bring together the new approach. He can be contacted at iain.bourne@ico.gsi.gov.uk. Iain would be very pleased hear your thoughts about the new approach. In particular, he'd like to know what services, products or events information practitioners want from the ICO.
Data protection enforcement powers of the Information Commissioner's Office include:
It is important to note that the second of these powers is focused on ensuring that organisations meet the obligations which the Data Protection Act (and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations) impose. If the ICO cannot achieve compliance by means of informal resolution then, where the breach is sufficiently serious, we will issue a formal Enforcement Notice, requiring these organisations to comply. In the last quarter we have taken the following enforcement action:
In September the ICO published details of the preliminary enforcement action it is taking against organisations who are not complying with the requirements of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). PECR enforcement notices
New research from the ICO is showing that the vast majority of UK businesses and organisations support the Data Protection Act and see it as a key benefit to their business.
Of those surveyed 89% say the Data Protection Act is needed, 84% say it improves information management and 83% say it improves the amount of trust customers place in organisations.
The ICO provides user friendly guidance that is appropriate for its intended audience.
For example, the purpose of a good practice note is to present organisations with data protection and freedom of information advice in a simple, easily understood form. The notes are written in plain English with no jargon. Typically they are aimed at people who have limited time to absorb information about their obligations. The focus of the notes is often therefore quite narrow and will aim to address questions that are often asked of our helpline or advice teams.
In the last quarter we also launched a new series of advice called It's your information. This is the equivalent of the good practice note but is aimed at the general public. These will not only cover individuals' rights but topics where the public may be concerned or want more information, perhaps because of press coverage of a particular issue. They can also be a companion piece to either a good practice or technical guidance note. For example, one of the first pieces was on radio frequency identity tags. We had only just brought out the note as a companion piece to technical guidance when 'the spy in the wheely bin' stories began to appear – the potential 'spy' was of course one of the tags....
The advice on 'Unwanted marketing' is likely to be extremely popular. This gives straightforward advice to the public on their rights about unwanted marketing however this is sent to them.
The purpose of technical guidance notes is to provide guidance to organisations on ICO's policy and approach to the specific technical requirements of the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts. They will often provide ICO's interpretation of the legal requirements in the legislation including exemptions and exceptions. They can also cover newly developing technologies.
The notes will, as far as possible, use plain English but will also use technical terms which are likely to be understood by the intended audience.
Since July's e-newsletter the ICO has issued the following guidance:
On Thursday 26 October 2006 Information commissioner Richard Thomas presented an FOI progress report to the Department for Constitutional Affairs. The report documents the contribution of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) over the 18 months since the Act came fully into force.
Presenting the report Richard said,
'It has been a challenging time, but we are proud of our achievements. We experienced problems over the first 12 months, which we have tackled with great vigour. We can now demonstrate clear and significant improvements in our complaints handling since the beginning of 2006. We are confident that we are moving in the right direction and that our performance will continue to improve.
This report explains the changes that we have made, and signals the performance that can be expected from us in the future with existing baseline funding or increased resources'
As announced in the progress report the Commissioner will now be taking a more robust approach towards the small number of public authorities that repeatedly fail to meet those responsibilities. He will do this through the use of Practice Recommendations and Enforcement Notices.
During the second quarter of the financial year 2006/2007 we received 688 complaints under the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations:
This diagram outlines FOI cases received and resolved up until the end of September 2006
When a Decision Notice is issued, we inform both parties of their right to appeal to the Information Tribunal.
Ofcom – mobile phone base stations
The Information Commissioner has served a Decision Notice under the Environmental Information Regulations ordering Ofcom to provide all data on mobile phone base stations held within its Sitefinder database.
Network Rail – environmental information
The Information Commissioner has ruled that Network Rail falls within the definition of a public authority under the Environmental Information Regulations, and therefore must respond to requests for environmental information.
Office of Government Commerce - Identity cards
The Commissioner upheld complaints against the Office of Government Commerce about the government's identity cards programme.
The decision followed a refusal by the public authorities to disclose information about Gateway Reviews of the programme and its "traffic light" status.
The Commissioner said: "The subject of these reports - identity cards - will have a significant impact on the lives of individuals and their relationship with the state. Disclosure is likely to enhance public debate of issues such as the programme's feasibility and how it is managed."
Department of Trade - Tobacco
The Commissioner ordered the Department for Trade and Industry to release information about its four-year investigation into allegations that British American Tobacco had been involved in smuggling in the third world.
The DTI was given 60 days to identify what information should be disclosed and to provide the complainant with a full disclosure statement.
The Commissioner said that, subject to exemptions, disclosure should include information about the decision to take no further action as well as analyses and recommendations of investigators and advisers to the Secretary of State.
Health Protection Agency - Legionnaires' disease – Malta
The Commissioner ordered the Health Protection Agency to release information about an investigation into a reported outbreak of Legionnaire's disease at a hotel in Malta.
The decision followed a complaint by a holidaymaker who was pursuing an insurance claim for compensation after contracting the disease during a holiday at the hotel in Buggiba, Malta, in June 2004.
The agency had claimed that information about the investigation had been provided in confidence. But, in his ruling, the Commissioner said that access to information about the presence of infection would enable individuals to protect themselves from risks to their health and to make an informed choice about where to stay on holiday.
BBC – Personal correspondence
The Commissioner has upheld the decision of the BBC not to release copies of correspondence passing between Mr Michael Grade and Lord Birt. The Commissioner considered the correspondence between the parties and further submissions made by the BBC to the effect that the information was not “held by the authority” for the purposes of section 3 (2) of the Act.
City and County of Swansea - Chief executive's pay off
The Commissioner has upheld the decision not to release the cash pay off figure for a former chief executive of the City and County of Swansea.
HM Treasury – Request for information about applicants for Bank of England governor job
The Commissioner has upheld the decision to withhold the information save for the information requested as to the background of the successful candidate Mr Mervyn King.
Wolverhampton City Council - Investing pension funds investments
The Commissioner has ordered that the information should be disclosed on the basis that the public interest in knowing that public funds are being invested wisely overrides the public interest in protecting confidentiality in this instance. The Commissioner also believes that a disclosure would not prejudice the commercial interests of any party.
Epsom & St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust – Personal records of an individual now deceased
The Commissioner has upheld the decision of the Trust not to release the information contained in the medical records of a deceased patient in circumstances where the personal representatives could have brought an action for breach of confidentiality.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) marked International Your Right to Know Day by launching a new initiative on Freedom of Information publication schemes.
More from around the International community for Freedom of Information can be found at: http://www.foiadvocates.net/rkd06.php
We welcome your comments on our e-newsletter. If you have any comments or suggestions please e-mail websitefeedback@ico.gsi.gov.uk
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