There are many cases where information should and could have been shared but for many reasons this did not happen for example ‘Soham’ and the ‘Victoria Climbié’ case. The Government is putting more emphasis on public authorities i.e. Local Authorities, Police and the NHS to share information for the protection of our citizens.
There has always been provision under Section 35 of the Data Protection Act 1998 and Section 115 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 for release of personal information for disclosures required by law. However, there may be other reasons outside the boundaries of crime and disorder where it would be beneficial to share information.
The collection, use and disclosure of personal information is governed by a number of different areas of law:
It is vital that when deciding to share information that we have a legal basis to do so. Therefore, if legislation exists stating that information cannot be shared (unless exempt under Section 35 DPA, 115 CDA) then even if an Information Sharing Protocol is prepared, sharing the information would still be illegal.
As Data Sharing is sometimes a grey area, and many would argue that all data stores would be covered by Administrative Law, it is essential to investigate each instance.
The Children’s Act 2004 (Section 10) has placed a responsibility on all children’s service authorities i.e. Local Authorities, Police, Probation, NHS to safeguard children’s and young peoples welfare. Data sharing between these agencies for the purpose specified, welfare of children and young people is therefore essential.An information sharing protocol titled ‘Information Sharing Protocol and Guidance for Agencies Working with Children and Young People’ has been written and agreed by the Children and Young People’s Partnership Trust to this aim.
It is from this document that a template has been created to ensure consistency when writing these protocols.
The following are information sharing protocols that are currently in place:
Data Protection