Within the health and social care sector, new technologies that use large amounts of personal data are being used to support both direct care and secondary purposes, such as planning and research. An example is the the use of AI to provide automated diagnoses based on medical imaging data from patients.  Transparency is a key ..read more

The recent High Court ruling in Wessex Fertility Limited v University Southampton Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority v Donor Conception Network (2024), answers the question of when an express refusal of consent can be overridden because of a medical need.  The claimant in this case, Wessex Fertility Limited (“the Clinic”) sought ..read more

The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill is currently in the Committee stage of the House of Lords. If passed, it will make changes to UK data protection legislation including the UK GDPR. The Government recently published updated versions of Keeling Schedules showing potential changes to the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive ..read more

In 2022, Act Now Training teamed up with Damar to deliver the new Data Protection and Information Governance Practitioner Apprenticeship. The aim is to develop individuals into accomplished data protection and information governance practitioners with the knowledge, skills and competencies to address future IG challenges. Two years on, over 130 apprentices are currently on the programme ..read more

On 1st March 2024, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced that it has issued an Enforcement Notice and warning to the Home Office for failing to sufficiently assess the privacy risks posed by the electronic monitoring of people arriving in the UK via unauthorised means. (Strangely the actual text of the notice and warning were ..read more

In the run up to the General Election this year, political parties in the UK will face the challenge of effectively communicating their message to voters whilst at the same time respecting voters’ privacy. In the past few years, all parties have been accused of riding roughshod over data protection laws in their attempts to ..read more

Act Now Training is pleased to announce that it has been nominated once again for the 2024 Information and Records Management Society (IRMS) awards.  Each year the IRMS recognises excellence in the field of information management with their prestigious Industry Awards. These highly sought-after awards are presented at a glittering ceremony at the annual Conference ..read more

Inadvertent disclosure of personal data on email systems has been the subject of a number of GDPR enforcement actions by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the past few years. In 2021, the transgender charity Mermaids was fined £25,000 for failing to keep the personal data of its users secure. The ICO found that Mermaids failed to ..read more

Employers have always had a keen interest in monitoring and tracking employees. In 2017, we addressed this topic in a blog post focusing on the GDPR implications of employee monitoring using GPS trackers and similar devices. Recent advances in surveillance technology, particularly facial recognition, have not only streamlined employee monitoring but has also rendered it ..read more

Journalists’ FOI requests can be challenging for public authorities. Sometimes they are viewed with suspicion. A public authority may even feel that a journalist is on a “fishing expedition”.   This free webinar is a unique opportunity for FOI practitioners to understand FOI from a journalist’s perspective and improve their FOI practice. Martin will share his ..read more