22/12/20
As the end of the transition period fast approaches, the Public Contract Contracts Regulations and Concession Contracts Regulations are being amended to bring them 'onshore' but not repealed. They will remain the law until the government's review reaches a conclusion that changes everything…
14/12/20
As the end of the transition period fast approaches, businesses must focus on actions required to ensure personal data continues to flow from the EU to the UK. This was the point raised by Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Alok Sharma in his weekly Business Readiness…
17/11/20
Earlier this month, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) published detailed guidance discussing the use of criminal offence data in detail. Data Protection Officers and information governance teams should review the latest guidance to ensure RPs meet the obligations set out in the new…
21/10/20
The ICO has today announced that it has published its updated its 'Right of Access Detailed Guidance'. A copy of the guidance can be found here - https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/right-of-access/ This…
21/10/20
Sky High Fine: ICO fines British Airways £20m for data breach The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has fined British Airways (BA) £20m has fined British Airways - the biggest such penalty to date - for failing to protect data resulting in more than 400,000 of its customers…
20/10/20
It has been reported earlier this month that the Swedish clothing retailer, H&M has been fined more than €35 million by the German data protection authority, after it was found to have unlawfully collected employee data of some of its employees in Germany. This is the highest level of fine…
13/10/20
The transfer of personal data from outside the European Union to a third country is prohibited under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) unless certain safeguards are met. These safeguards include: · Under Article 45, GDPR - where there is a European Commission adequacy decision…
13/10/20
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published its Accountability Framework to help organisations manage their data protection compliance and understand how they can comply with the General Data Protection Regulation's (GDPR) accountability principle. Article 5(2) of the GDPR…
13/10/20
It has been reported earlier this week that the Swedish clothing retailer, H&M has been fined more than €35 million ($41 million) by the German data protection authority, after it was found to have unlawfully collected employee data of some of its employees in Germany. This is the highest level…
13/10/20
It has recently been reported that the High Court awarded an interim injunction preventing a local resident from publishing sensitive personal information that was wrongly disclosed by the social services department in the London Borough of Redbridge. Background In the matter of London Borough…
05/10/20
On 1 October 2020, the Government updated its guidance on 'Education and Childcare during Coronavirus,' to include a duty on schools to provide a remote education provision for pupils who need remain at home for reasons relating to Coronavirus, who are of compulsory school age or under that age…
23/09/20
On 2 September 2020, the ICO's Age Appropriate Design Code (known as the Children's Code) came into force. The Children's Code sets out 15 standards that online services should meet to protect children's privacy whilst online. The Children's Code is a statutory code of conduct…
17/09/20
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published its recent data security incident trends for the first quarter of 2020/2021. The figures published are compiled by the ICO and are based upon the number of personal data breaches reported to them. The figures show how many incidents have…
16/09/20
In the recent case of Kathryn Hopkins v Revenue & Customs Commissioners [2020] EWHC 2355 (QB), the High Court struck out most claims brought by a civil servant against her employer. This article will focus on some of the 20 data protection claims under the General Data Protection Regulation (EU)…
05/08/20
Published in July and with actions required by the end of the year, new sanctions being imposed in "shadow" form now and in earnest from January, the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code is a significant addition to the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. Membership of the Scheme includes an…
28/07/20
The Upper Tribunal has recently published its judgment in the case of The Information Commissioner v Poplar Housing Association and Regeneration Community Association confirming that private registered providers of social housing (RPs) are not subject to the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (…
09/07/20
"Is this my problem? Is this my fault? If that's the way it's going to be I'm going to call the whole thing to a halt." Paul Simon wasn't writing about managing construction contracts during the Covid-19 outbreak, but he might as well have been. The standard wording of…
03/07/20
As we prepare for further measures to ease the current restrictions in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the government has confirmed that these restrictions are being eased with the support of the NHS' contact tracing system. In guidance published yesterday, the government confirmed…
30/06/20
Under Article 97 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the European Commission is obliged to report to the European Parliament and European Council on the evaluation and review of the GDPR. This review must be conducted 2 years after the date the GDPR was implemented (i.e. by 25 May 2020)…
29/05/20
The coronavirus pandemic has raised questions about use of surveillance systems for tracking and tracing the spread of the virus and enforcing movement restrictions. Public authorities are considering their options to monitor social distancing measures in an attempt to reduce to the spread of the virus…
22/05/20
The 25th May 2020 marks two years since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 came into force in the UK. The change in law marked the biggest change in data protection law in 20 years and gave the regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the…
20/05/20
In a statement released yesterday, 19 May 2020, easyJet revealed that the personal information of approximately 9 million customers was accessed in a highly sophisticated cyber-attack. The personal information accessed included e-mail addresses and travel details. Credit card details of 2,208 customers…
05/05/20
Last week, the High Court published a judgment where a school that sent a letter to parents regarding the disruptive behavioural issues of a disabled pupil, designed to reassure them that staff were able to deal with the behaviour appropriately, was liable for breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998,…
01/05/20
Last month, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) wrote to all RPs and local authorities regarding its expectations and regulatory approach in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In its letter, the RSH confirmed that its shared priority across the sector was to maintain tenant safety. Subsequently…
22/04/20
Following the announcement that the government has cancelled this summer's exams due to the coronavirus pandemic, the exam regulator, Ofqual, has launched a consultation on proposals to award pupils with a calculated grade. Ofqual proposes to award GCSE and A-Level grades by a combination of teacher…
01/04/20
The Supreme Court has today ruled in favour of Morrisons Supermarkets in relation to a large data breach claim, brought by a group of employees whose personal information had been posted online by a disgruntled employee. Data Breach Claim The employee, Andrew Skelton, was a member of Morrisons…
01/04/20
With the unprecedented measures being put in place by the government to reduce the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, RPs are undoubtedly considering what action needs to be taken to make sure both tenants and staff are kept safe. The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) wrote to RPs last week to…
26/03/20
In these current exceptional circumstances, you may need to procure goods, services and works urgently. As you are probably already aware, authorities are permitted to do this using regulation 32(2)(c) under the Public Contract Regulations 2015. So, what can you do? Option 1 - Direct award due…
26/03/20
With the unprecedented measures being put in place by the government to reduce the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, RPs will be undoubtedly be considering the risks of contracts being unfulfilled. This global pandemic is having a huge impact on organisations of all sizes and is outside the…
25/03/20
The coronavirus outbreak has produced a lot of government action targeted at keeping infections down and that has in turn affected a lot of organisations, their contracts with each other and their plans for future procurement. For buyers subject to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) or the…
20/03/20
For all those working in Housing & Regeneration, COVID-19 poses a concern not only for personal safety of family, friends, colleagues and partners but also for keeping Development Programmes running and 'on-target' and meeting Homes England's March deadlines. We are working with our…
18/03/20
In response to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 the Government has announced that the roll out of IR35 to the private sector shall be delayed until the spring of 2021 On 17 March 2020 the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Steve Barclay, announced to Parliament that "the government is postponing…
31/01/20
As the UK prepares to leave the European Union on 31 January 2020, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has released a statement confirming that it will be "business as usual for data protection" during the transition period. The Brexit transition period will run until the…
