ICO is working on the UK’s own set of Standard Contractual Clauses

Speaking at the ICO’s virtual conference today, Steve Wood, Deputy Information Commissioner, said that the ICO is working on bespoke UK Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) for international data transfers, and intends to consult on them in the summer. This process is separate to the EU SCCs that are being modernised and expected to be issued in the next few weeks.

Wood also said that the UK’s EU adequacy assessment is at an advanced stage, and the ICO is confident that the process can be completed by the end of June when the UK bridging mechanism expires. He was asked whether companies should put in alternative transfer mechanisms in place now, in case there will not be an adequacy determination from the EU. Wood said that there is information about this subject available on the ICO website, ‘but we are in a more positive place now that there is a draft decision from the EU Commission’.

Join us on 13 May for a webinar on data transfers – the session will explain the future for data privacy law relationships between the UK, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and the EU.

Speakers include Joe Jones, Head of Data Adequacy, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), UK and the government representatives of Guernsey and Jersey and the Isle of Man Commissioner.