Data Protection Legislative Framework

Thursday 27th January 2011 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Jonathan Djanogly)]

My right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice, Lord McNally, has made the following written ministerial statement:

Tomorrow, I will publish the Government’s response to the Call for Evidence on current data protection law which was held between July and October 2010.

The Call for Evidence sought evidence about areas of the European Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and the Data Protection Act 1998 that may be out of date or could be improved, and also those areas that are working well and should be retained. Over 160 responses were received from across the public, private and third sectors, consumer groups and members of the public. The evidence received will help to inform the UK’s position for the forthcoming negotiations on a new comprehensive EU instrument for data protection. A proposal for this instrument is expected from the European Commission in mid-2011.

At the same time as publishing this response, the Government will publish a post-implementation review impact assessment of the Data Protection Act 1998, having received comments on the provisional document published alongside the Call for Evidence. The post-implementation review primarily aimed to assess the costs and benefits the Act has generated, but findings from the review will also contribute to the UK’s evidence base for negotiations on a revised EU legal instrument.

Copies of the response to the Call for Evidence paper and the post-implementation review impact assessment will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and on the Department’s website at: www.justice.gov.uk.