"Show Me The Money!"

The Commons Justice Select Committee's recent report on the work of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is a mixed bag when it comes to assessing the performance and future of the ICO.

Certainly there are a number of aspects of the report which make for appealing reading:

• The figures reveal that the ICO has made significant inroads into the backlog of UK freedom of information appeals and complaints casework, and turnaround times are on the up.
• The ICO's proposal to makes breaches of section 55 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (i.e. unlawful obtaining of personal data) recordable offences received strong support from the Committee.  At present, section 55 offenders are required to pay modest fines for their breaches – one recent example involved an "over enthusiastic" woman convicted for regularly accessing her partner's ex-wife's bank accounts during their ongoing divorce action. In this case she was let off with a £500 fine and a slap on the wrists.