On 10 September, DCMS launched a consultation on reforms to the UK’s data protection regime.
As part of this, the consultation outlines that the government is considering legislative changes to streamline and clarify rules on police collection, use and retention of biometric data in order to improve transparency and public safety.
The consultation document also seeks views on simplifying the oversight framework for the police’s use of biometrics and overt surveillance, proposing that the functions of the Biometrics Commissioner and the Surveillance Camera Commissioner should be absorbed under a single oversight function exercised by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The Commissioner and his office would like to encourage responses from a wide range of stakeholders to these issues raised within the DCMS data reform consultation which are principally matters for policing and law enforcement. We would likewise be very happy to discuss these issues with our stakeholders over the course of the consultation period.