Public sector organisations should not use data protection laws as justification for unnecessary barriers to sharing information, according to a government statement published last week.
Initiatives relying on cross-departmental collaboration are already under way, and intend to fight fraud, decrease the burden on business and reach citizens eligible for pension credits.
But more can be done without infringing privacy or breaking the Data Protection Act, says the Department for Constitutional Affairs’ (DCA) vision statement.
‘The aim is to set out our stall in terms of where data sharing is going,’ said DCA head of information rights Belinda Crowe.
‘There is more information that can be shared,’ she said.
Better use of government data is central to delivering the Transformational Government strategy developed by the Cabinet Office, which aims to improve services by focusing on citizens rather than traditional Whitehall bodies.
The DCA statement includes plans such as the use of Department for Work and Pensions credits data to find citizens eligible for council tax benefits.
But it does little to address more general concerns, says analyst Butler Group’s Sarah Burnett. Public sector bodies need clarification on how to negotiate rules affecting data sharing, she says.
‘It is disappointing that there is not a more cohesive vision and I look forward to a broader document that sets out the practical steps showing how data will be brought together,’ said Burnett.
‘High-level agreements need to be in place because there are too many requirements and protocols and the DCA is not saying how it will work in practice,’ she said.
The DCA plans to publish a more detailed plan next April.
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