Legal Article
12/12/23
The Information Commissioner Office (ICO) has announced it has taken enforcement action against Charnwood Borough Council following an incident where the Council disclosed a woman's new address to her ex-partner who she had accused of domestic abuse. Following an investigation, the ICO has…
Legal Article
12/12/23
The ICO has recently published guidance specifically targeted at the housing sector setting out how data protection law can be used to prevent harm. In a blog published by the ICO, it discusses a number of common complaints it sees from the housing sector and highlights how poor data protection…
Legal Article
07/12/23
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has recently announced its decision to reprimand Finham Park Multi Academy Trust (the MAT), after an unauthorised third party accessed and encrypted the MAT's systems. Background The MAT reported a cyber-security breach to the ICO following…
Legal Article
22/11/23
Recently, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) announced its decision to reprimand Nottinghamshire County Council (the Council), for failure to redact sensitive information held within a Child and Family Assessment report, which are used to assess the needs of vulnerable children in…
Legal Article
15/11/23
On 14 October 2023, the Regulator for Social Housing (RSH) published its annual Sector Risk Profile report (the Report), detailing its view of the most significant risks preventing registered providers (RPs) from achieving compliance with the RSH regulatory standards. RSH's publication statement…
Legal Article
01/11/23
On 30 October 2023, the Department for Education (DfE) publicised a fresh wave of support for the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the education sector, by announcing £2 million worth of investment in Oak National Academy in its development of a lesson planning assistant for…
Legal Article
12/10/23
Established in response to the devastating Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, the Building Safety Act 2022 (the BSA) introduces sweeping reforms that directly affect the construction industry. A cornerstone of these reforms is the establishment of a new Building Safety Regulator (the BSR). This article delves…
Legal Article
29/09/23
Established in response to the devastating Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, the Building Safety Act 2022 (the BSA) introduces sweeping reforms that directly affect the construction industry. A cornerstone of these reforms is the establishment of a new Building Safety Regulator (the BSR). This article delves…
Legal Article
11/08/23
On 2 August 2023, the Department of Education (DfE) updated its governance guidance for FE and sixth-form college corporations. First published in June 2022, the purpose of the guidance is to provide support and assistance to governors with regards to their duties and responsibilities by reinforcing key…
Legal Article
04/08/23
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published details of a reprimand issued to NHS Lanarkshire, following staff's unauthorised use of WhatsApp to share the personal details of patients, over the course of two years. Background The reprimand is difficult to read in places as…
Legal Article
04/08/23
Background The Information Commissioner (ICO) has recently published details of a reprimand to "My Media World Limited t/a Brand New Tube" (BNT) following an incident where BNT's systems were subject to a cyber-attack. Case facts The reprimand states that on the 14th August…
Forbes News
17/07/23
Following quickly on from the launch of its new five-year strategic plan and the government's budgetary plans, Homes England has announced that Registered Providers of Social Housing (RPs) will for the first time be able to use grant funding provided through the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) to…
Forbes News
14/07/23
Following quickly on from the launch of its new five-year strategic plan and the government's budgetary plans, Homes England has announced that Registered Providers of Social Housing (RPs) will for the first time be able to use grant funding provided through the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) to…
Forbes News
13/07/23
Background Earlier this week, judgment was handed down in the High Court of the claim Yae Bekoe v London Borough of Islington [2023] EWHC 1668 (KB). The High Court upheld the claims made by the individual involved that the local authority had misused their personal information and breached the…
Legal Article
05/07/23
Earlier this month, the Department for Education (Dfe), announced that it was seeking views on the revision to its guidance "Information Sharing Advice for Practitioners Providing Safeguarding Services to Children, Young People, Parents and Carers". This non-statutory guidance provides…
Forbes News
19/06/23
The ICO has recently published details of a reprimand it has issued against University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust for failing to comply with the UK GDPR's security principle. On 25 April 2023, the ICO published details of a reprimand it had issued to the Trust for inappropriately…
Legal Article
08/06/23
The establishment of the Regulator of Social Housing (the Regulator) in 2018 brought with it a seismic shift in respect of the governance of social housing. Overall, the Regulator should be seen as a success (and the changes it has brought about positive). However, the continuous scrutiny which it…
Legal Article
06/06/23
The ICO has recently published details of a reprimand issued against a primary school following an incident where a safeguarding email was shared in the classroom via an electronic white screen. The reprimand issued is the another example of the ICO's change in regulatory approach to public sector…
Legal Article
31/05/23
This article will explore the compatibility of traditional contracts, such as the JCT and NEC4 suites, with modern methods of construction (MMC). What contractual provisions should be implemented when drafting amends to these contracts, and more specifically the potential issues which off-site…
Legal Article
31/05/23
On 24 May 2023 the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) published new guidance for employers and businesses relating to responding to Subject Access Requests (SARs). This guidance has been released in the wake of recent enforcement action issued by the ICO to two local authorities, for failure to…
Legal Article
30/05/23
The Department for Education ( DfE ) has recently published draft set of "quality" descriptions for multi-academy trusts ( MATs ). It is hoped by the DfE that this new guidance, provides MATs and single academy trusts looking to expand, with greater clarity surrounding the DfE's…
Legal Article
26/05/23
On 24 May 2023 the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) published new guidance for employers and businesses relating to responding to Subject Access Requests (SARs). This guidance has been released in the wake of recent enforcement action issued by the ICO to two local authorities, for failure to…
Forbes News
15/05/23
On 15 May 2023, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) issued two Local Authorities, Plymouth City Council and Norfolk County Council with reprimand notices, for failing to respond to subject access requests (SAR) received from members of the public. The Law Article 15 of the UK…
Legal Article
11/05/23
On 10 May 2023, the Government released supporting documents, outlining how the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (No.2) (the Bill) proposes to amend the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA), UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive)…
Legal Article
03/05/23
The ICO has recently published details of a reprimand it has issued against University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust for failing to comply with the UK GDPR's security principle. On 25 April 2023, the ICO published details of a reprimand it had issued to the Trust for inappropriately…
Legal Article
25/04/23
In a statement published 31 January 2023, the ICO confirmed its view that North Ayrshire Council's (NAC) use of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) for cashless catering purposes in canteens at nine of its schools is likely to have infringed articles of the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK…
Legal Article
18/04/23
The ICO has announced that it has issued both Sussex and Surrey Police with a reprimand relating to an app that recorded telephone calls without callers' knowledge. The press release from the ICO states that "In June 2020, the ICO became aware that staff members across both police forces…
Legal Article
06/04/23
The ICO has recently announced it has issued a reprimand against a not-for-profit organisation for failing to comply with the UK GDPR's security principle. On 03 April 2023, the ICO published a reprimand against Achieving for Children, a not-for-profit organisation, for inappropriately…
Legal Article
06/04/23
On 4 April 2023, the UK regulator for data protection, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) announced it had concluded its investigations into TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited and TikTok Inc (TikTok), the popular video sharing platform, and confirmed that it had issued TikTok with a…
Legal Article
29/03/23
On 6th March 2023, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) published a regulatory notice relating to the London Borough of Haringey (LBH) and potential breaches of the RSH's Regulatory Standards (the Standards) This notice highlights a continued commitment by the RSH to ensuring registered…
Legal Article
24/02/23
In a statement published 31 January 2023, the ICO confirmed its view that North Ayrshire Council's (NAC) use of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) for cashless catering purposes in canteens at nine of its schools is likely to have infringed articles of the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK…
Forbes News
13/02/23
On 19 January 2023, Mr Stephen Bonner, Deputy Commissioner at the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), responded to concerns raised in relation to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) used by local authorities. As a result, some in the public sector will undoubtedly question the data…
Legal Article
24/01/23
The ever-increasing prices of energy costs, volatile supply chains and worsening climate crisis have highlighted a need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels - the use of ground source heat pumps is expected to play a key role in doing so. Ground source heat pumps, sometimes referred to as a…
