Information Commissioner Richard Thomas is one of the two men in
charge of the consultation, which will focus on the use and sharing
of information. The other is Government science and technology
advisor Dr Mark Walport.
The consultation will consider changes to the Data Protection
Act and will present Government with options for changes to the
law.
“The review will be concentrating on information sharing. When
do public bodies, in particular, need to make use of personal
information held by others to do their job properly?" said Thomas.
"Law enforcement, child protection and more personalised services
may be examples. But we will need to assess the dangers if
information is shared too freely."
Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced in October that a review
of data sharing would take place, when it emerged that HM Revenue
and Customs (HMRC) had lost two CDs containing personal details,
including bank account information, belonging to every person
claiming child benefit.
The review will cover the private and the public sector and is
scheduled to report its findings in the first half of 2008.
The consultation will talk to experts in the field of privacy
and data protection, a Ministry of Justice statement said. "We want
to know that our information is safe, secure and protected from
misuse. Exactly how is our information being used? How can we be
sure it is being used lawfully? Who holds our information and to
what end? And what impact is the sharing of personal information
having on our private lives?" it said.
The review will examine whether Thomas's office should have more
powers, something he has consistently lobbied for. The Information
Commissioner's Office (ICO) could only audit a body's information
policies with that organisation's permission, but Brown said that
this will be changed in relation to public bodies in the aftermath
of the HMRC data loss.
The consultation is open until 15th February next year.
