UK Data Protection E-news - January 2011
1. The Information Commissioner will become fully independent of the Ministry of Justice
The Information Commissioner’s Office has been requesting for a long time more independence and it will now be granted. The government said on 7 January that it intends to repeal the requirement of the Information Commissioner to seek the Secretary of State’s consent in relation to the appointment of staff, their pay and pensions. In the future, a Commissioner will only be able to serve a single 5 year term. He will be able to issue statutory guidance without the sign off of the Secretary of State.
The Campaign for Freedom of Information said that appointing a new Commissioner every five years could be potentially disruptive, and the term of appointment should be extended to 6 or 7 years.
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