UNITED KINGDOM
Credit reference agencies to help combat benefit fraud
Prime Minister David Cameron is seeking help from credit reference agencies to combat benefit fraud in a bid to cut £1.5 billion from the annual welfare bill. The PM announced today that agencies will carry out credit checks on new benefit applicants for which they are likely to receive 'bounty' payments for each fraudster they identify. Employment minister Chris Grayling has defended the move against criticism from civil liberties groups, saying that the government is simply making use of commercially available data.
Click here for PM's article
Private investigators reminded on notification requirements
The Information Commissioner's Office has launched a campaign to ensure that private investigators notify them when they are handling personal data. As part of their role many private investigators regularly process personal information on people. All organisations handling personal data must notify the ICO under the Data Protection Act. The ICO is concerned that only a relatively small part of the industry appear on the public register and have sent out a reminder to the relevant professional organisations about the industry's legal responsibilities.
Click here for the press release
EUROPEAN UNION
Commission delays review of Data Protection Directive
The French data protection authority (CNIL) has announced that the European Commission has decided to postpone its proposal for revisions to the Data Protection Directive until 2011, following lobbying from national data protection authorities who considered the timetable for reform to be unrealistic. The postponement has not yet been officially announced either by the Commission or the ICO.
Click here for the announcement
SeCure
SeCure is Addleshaw Goddard's unique, holistic and pragmatic approach to information management for organisations who have suffered an information breach or who may be concerned about their potential exposure. SeCure seeks to minimise risk and the impact of information losses on an organisation's business, through three interdependent approaches, addressing the commercial and legal requirements at each stage of the information management cycle.
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