Data protection and freedom of information laws are hindering the progress of e-government projects, according to a study to be published later in May 2003. E-Government Outlook, a survey of public sector bodies, found that 33% of respondents believe that the Data Protection Act was preventing them from joining up services.
More than 25% anticipate problems complying with the Freedom of Information Act, which will enable citizens to demand access to information held about them by public sector organisations.
According to the survey by e-government publishers Headstar, there was also concern that it would not be possible to carry out the obligations of one of the acts without breaking the other. One respondent said: “Some of the information we are required to make available under the Freedom of Information Act would require the gathering of data which seems to contravene parts of the Data Protection Act.”
Some respondents felt that carrying out this legislation would pose cultural issues for the public sector. One respondent suggested that it would be an “impossible” administration job to undertake, whereas another said that support for the Freedom of Information Act from senior management would be very hard to obtain.
However, not everyone believes that this legislation will actually hamper e-government progress. Speaking to Government Computing News, Rosemary Jay, a senior consultant at Mason’s Solicitors working in the area of freedom of information and data protection, disputed that either act will pose serious problems, and said that the real issue is about the public trusting the Government.
“It’s fair to say that the Data Protection Act will have an impact on data, but so it should. The bigger problem is a lack of trust and confidence in the Government keeping and handling the information properly,” she said.
“If people don’t trust the Government then it won’t work.”
On potential problems arising from working with both pieces of legislation she said: “The freedom of information and data protection legislation contains a careful interface between the two. It sets out rules on how you handle both acts.”
She did not feel that there would be problems and that a contributing factor to the scepticism is a lack of understanding. However, it is important that the Government manages things properly, she said.
“Information sharing is a sensitive issue and needs to be carefully managed."
The report can be found on the E-Government Outlook website.
Quelle: Kablenet
