More and more it is commonplace for schools and academy trusts to receive Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs) from parents, either for themselves or on the behalf of their child. Liam Ellwood explores what a DSAR might look like, and how a schools or trust should look to deal with it in the first instance. Read more
The Government has announced plans to ban local councils, NHS bodies and schools from making ransomware payments in order to make them unattractive targets for criminals.
The Information Commissioner has failed in a second bid to have an appeal by Bristol City Council over an enforcement notice struck out, it has emerged.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued an enforcement notice against the City of London Police for Freedom of Information (FOI) failings and made practice recommendations for Staffordshire Police, Dorset Police and Goldsmiths, University of London.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has announced it will continue with its revised public sector approach (PSA) despite it not being a "straightforward success or failure".
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published guidance on handling freedom of information requests for councils which have issued or are likely to issue a section 114 notice.
Someone who was not a party to a case in the Upper Tribunal can still see written submissions made in it if they have sufficient reason, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Eight out of 10 councils have said that current information sharing agreements between agencies cause delays in taking action against perpetrators of anti-social behaviour (ASB), according to a new report.
An individual who has contributed to the Bexley Council is Bonkers blog made Freedom of Information requests that were neither vexatious nor unreasonable, the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) Information Rights has found.
The Information Commissioner, John Edwards, has urged councils to do more to reduce the number of data breaches and improve data protection for people in vulnerable situations.
Havering Council has been refused permission to appeal a First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) order that it publish a historic self-assessment submitted as part of a Race Equality, Accessibility, Diversity, and Inclusion (READI) review undertaken by the Local Government Association.
In a second article on the Public Law Working Group’s recommendations for best practice for adoption, Avaia Williams considers Chapter 2, which covers the crucial issue of access to adoption records.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has announced a review of its enforcement approach when it comes to the public sector’s compliance with GDPR. Ibrahim Hasan sets out the background to the announcement.
The Information Commissioner’s Office recently reprimanded a school for using facial recognition technology without carrying out a data protection impact assessment. Ibrahim Hasan looks at the ICO’s decision.
The Information Tribunal has ordered HM Treasury and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to reveal information requested by legal rights charity Access Social Care around the decision-making processes which determine funding for adult social care.
Robert Weston, who has previously conducted audits and advisory visits for the Information Commissioner’s Office, has joined Act Now Training as an associate.
The Information Commissioner has issued Southend-on-Sea City Council with a reprimand after the personal details of council employees were accidently leaked in response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a practice recommendation to a water company after finding it was using too "narrow" a definition of 'environmental' to deny Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) requests.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has launched a data protection audit framework designed to help organisations, including public bodies, assess their own compliance with key requirements under data protection law.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) with a £750,000 monetary penalty for exposing the personal information of its workforce, after hidden data on a spreadsheet released as part of a FoI request revealed the surnames, initials, ranks and roles of all 9,483 PSNI officers and staff.
The First-tier Tribunal has ordered Cumberland Council to release documents relating to a decision to double councillors’ pay over an 11-month period, after it refused to provide information requested by the BBC.
Havering Council is to appeal an order by the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) requiring it to publish a historic self-assessment peer review submitted as part of the Local Government Association’s Race Equality, Accessibility, Diversity, and Inclusion (READI) review.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued an enforcement notice to Surrey Police after concluding that the force's failure "to meet even the basic requirements of the Freedom of Information Act is entirely unacceptable".
Bristol City Council has appealed an enforcement notice issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) earlier this year over the local authority’s backlog of freedom of information (FOI) requests, it has emerged.
The London Borough of Havering must disclose parts of a race equality, accessibility, diversity and inclusion review conducted for it by the Local Government Association (LGA), the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) Information Rights has ruled, overturning an earlier decision by the Information Commissioner.
The National Data Guardian for Health and Social Care, Dr Nicola Byrne, has highlighted the importance of using language accurately, after seeing attempts by organisations to “falsely describe” some activities that rely on patient data, such as population health management, as “direct care”.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to the Electoral Commission after hackers gained access to servers that contained the personal information of approximately 40 million people.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued enforcement notices against Devon and Cornwall Police and Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust over hundreds of unanswered freedom of information (FOI) requests.
A school in Essex has been issued with a reprimand by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO), after it introduced facial recognition technology to take cashless canteen payments from students without first carrying out a data protection impact assessment.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued the London Borough of Hackney with a reprimand following a cyber-attack in 2020, after the regulator found examples of a “lack of proper security and processes” by the council to protect personal data.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has said it will make a decision in the autumn on its approach to working with public sector organisations, following the end of a two-year trial.
A man who argued health and safety legislation should "reign supreme" over the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 in an appeal of South Kesteven District Council's refusal of an FOI request has had his appeal dismissed by the First Tier Tribunal (FTT).
The Information Commissioner’s Office has called on public bodies to consider the benefits of proactive disclosure, after analysing the common themes in the information asked for through the WhatDoTheyKnow (WDTK) website.
The First Tier Tribunal has heard a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) appeal against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)’s refusal to disclose information about its use of AI to detect fraud and error in the benefits system.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has found that Birmingham City Council “correctly withheld” information on its most valuable artworks in storage and on display, following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
Data protection consultancy, Act Now Training has won the Supplier of the Year award at the 2024 Information and Records Management Society (IRMS) annual awards.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to Birmingham Children's Trust Community Interest Company after the personal information of a child was “inappropriately disclosed” to another family.
A High Court judge recently allowed an appeal against the striking out of a claim against a police force and the CPS which had claimed immunity from suit. Jon Baines explains why.
The Information Commissioner’s Office recently announced that it intends to fine the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) £750,000 for a personal data breach. Ibrahim Hasan examines the decision.
Laura Cook and Melanie Carter consider the Information Commissioner's Office’s (ICO’s) recent enforcement notice, issued against Serco Leisure, and its newly published guidance on the use of biometric data.
2024 is going to be the year of AI regulation. As the impact of AI increases in our daily lives, governments and regulatory bodies globally are grappling with the need to establish clear guidelines and standards for its responsible use. Ibrahim Hasan looks at the latest developments.
In October last year, the Court of Appeal handed down a ruling providing some helpful clarity on the Information Commissioner’s responsibilities vis-á-vis the handling of complaints lodged by data subjects, writes Lucy Jones.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published new guidance for employers on monitoring workers. This includes some useful commentary on lawful monitoring in the context of recent developments to working practices, including the rise in homeworking and the increased use of more advanced monitoring technology in the workplace, write Rachel Barnet and Hannah Pettit.
“Exemption means Exemption” doesn’t cut it for the Court of Appeal: aggregation of exemptions is permitted under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Ben Mitchell analyses a significant ruling.
Philip Coppel KC sets out the key findings from a Court of Appeal ruling on the UK Information Commissioner's responsibilities when a data subject lodges a complaint that a data controller has infringed data protection law.
FOI enforcement is a priority for the Information Commissioners Office. Ben Pumphrey and Alastair Turnbull examine the core duties of public bodies and the exemptions that exist.
In recent news there have been reports of personal data breaches that have resulted from the release of information in response to a freedom of information request. Charlotte Smith looks at the issues involved.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has issued new guidance after reprimanding a school. Is your school in compliance with data protection law? Vicki Bowles looks at the key issues.
A claimant recently won a High Court damages claim against a London borough for misuse of personal data, with the council ordered to pay £6,000 in damages. Ibrahim Hasan explains why.