I think that the majority of organisations are (if they haven't already) moving towards a merger of the two roles. That mirrors the creation of the 'Information Commissioner' post. Speaking at the Records Maanagement Society conference in Leeds, the recently appointed Commissioner commented that the two go hand-in-hand; and also stressed the vital importance to both of good record-keeping. Take a look at his website at www.dataprotection.gov.uk
Mike.
-----Original Message-----
From: Pat BELLAMY [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, 30 April, 2003 10:15
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: DP and FoI
In my experience, the situation varies between different types of public authorities.
I work for a small District Council and I have both Data Protection and Freedom of Information responsibilities - but as only part of my job. (In 1995 I spent about 10% of my time on Data Protection but this has now increased to about 30% on DP & FoI.)
Five of the six District Councils in Worcestershire have the same arrangements, but the other has separated DP and FoI responsibilities. I have seen advertisements for "Data Protection and FoI Officers" over the last couple of years, usually from larger Councils.
In my opinion it is better to combine the roles of data protection and FoI as there is then less likely to be confusion about which Act applies to specific applications for information and which exemptions may apply. If the roles are split, there needs to be close co-operation.
Pat Bellamy
Policy & Data Protection Officer
email: [log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Nicola Franklin [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wed 30/04/2003 09:03
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc:
Subject: DP and FoI
We are currently hosting a discussion group on an Online Campus for the
Information Management course of a university in New Zealand, and one of
the students has posted a question regarding these two issues, and I
wondered if people here could share some of their experiences in this ares?
The student in question moved to NZ around 10 years ago from the UK, and
remembers DP legislation coming into force here, with the consequent
recruitment of a number of 'Data Protection Officers' at public
authorities. He wonders whether the duties resulting from the FoI
legislation will be undertaken by these same staff, or whether new 'FoI
Officers' will need to be recruited, especially taking into account the
potential conflicts between the requirements to disclose/not disclose
information in the two pieces of legislation.
Could anyone give me an idea of what is happening in practice?
Many thanks for any help you can offer.
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