Upcoming Events :
Housing Seminar: Partnerships with the Public Sector – Avoiding the pitfalls
Thu 31 May 2012
Minerva House, 5 Montague Close, London, SE1 9BB
ICO: Data laws 'could be seen as bureaucratic inconvenience'
Wed 04 Jan 2012
Public and private sector bodies have been urged not to avoid overlooking effective data management because of current financial difficulties.
According to Christopher Graham, the information commissioner, many councils may consider the Freedom of Information Act a "distraction" at a time they are trying to absorb significant budget cuts.
Furthermore, he suggested businesses could be "tempted to cut corners" when it comes to protecting sensitive data properly, such as customer details.
However, Mr Graham stressed that the Information Commissioner's Office will continue to enforce data protection and freedom of information laws in difficult times exactly as it would do in a more prosperous climate.
Indeed, he said these issues cannot be regarded as a "mere back office function to be cut", as the need to defend individuals rights' from possible abuse is more important now than ever before.
Richard Tinham, a specialist in information law at law firm Winckworth Sherwood, said: "Although businesses tend to be put off by anything that screams compliance, in many respects the obligations imposed by the Data Protection Act simply replicate a sensible and responsible attitude to the management of information belonging to others.
"It is generally beneficial to all for there to be sensible processes and procedures in place with respect to such information, regardless of legislative consequences.
"Unfortunately, it does tend to be the case that corner cutting often backfires and leads to greater expenses and management time being incurred in the long run. Winckworth Sherwood regularly advises on how best to efficiently address the practical issues associated with information law and compliance issues."
This comes after the ICO called on consumers in the UK to share their opinions about what type of data they would like to see state-run organisations share with the public.
