The Ministry of Justice has extended the Act to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), University Central Admissions Body (UCAS) and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), following a period of consultation, on the basis that they all perform functions of a public nature.
Lord McNally, Justice Minister, is keen to see a range of other bodies such as the Local Government Association, examination boards and harbour authorities brought within the scope of the Act and consultations are underway with several such bodies.
Increasing scrutiny of public bodies will no doubt lead to more work for the ICO and possibly even more revelations of data protection disasters like those recently reported from Big Brother Watch.
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