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Section 3 Issues and concerns in research and consultation

3.23 Freedom of Information and Data Protection

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Data Protection Act 1998 have implications for research and consultation activities of social landlords relating to the use and disclosure of personal data.

The Data Protection Act 1998 came into force on March 1 2000. The Act requires that all personal data (information which relates to identifiable persons) which is automatically processed must be officially registered. This requirement covers personal data stored or processed for research purposes by both the organisation and any contractors. Further information is available from the UK body responsible for enforcement of the Act, the Office of the Information Commissioner.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 introduces important new rights to access information held by public authorities and will require more proactive publication of information. Further information is available from the Scottish Government.

The Local Government Association provide up to date briefings on the implementation of freedom of information, although attention will need to be paid to detail of the law as it is applies in Scotland.

In relation to aspects of Freedom of Information that are particularly relevant to research and consultation, it is likely that public authorities will be asked for information about procurement processes and may receive requests for the release of additional data such as transcripts of interviews or other data not included in published reports; such data will need to be anonymised. As the agents of public authorities, any external contractors will need to be able to respond to requests to provide such data. There is no published guidance available yet on these issues but fuller discussion and information are available from the Consultation Institute.

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