A consultation exercise on the first six months' of the UK's new data protection regime was launched yesterday by the Home Office.
Questionnaires assessing the operation of the Data Protection Act 1998, which came into force on 1 March 2000, have been sent to 150 organisations in the UK. The questionnaire focuses on those provisions which go beyond the 1984 Data Protection Act. Results will be reported to Ministers in the new year.
Launching the consultation exercise, Home Office Minister Mike O'Brien said, "The 1998 Act heralded a new era of data protection rights for individuals, allied to new responsibilities for businesses and other organisations who process their personal data.
"The questionnaire has been developed in close co-operation with the Data Protection Commissioner, and will provide a valuable preliminary evaluation of the first six months' operation of the 1998 Act."
A European Commission report on the implementation of its 1995 Data Protection Directive is due by October 2001. The results of this survey will help to inform the UK in advance of this.
A copy of the survey questionnaire is being posted on the Home Office website.
