Councils and public bodies are to be issued a good practice guide next week on how to handle the spread of individual information.
The UK Commissioner for Data Protection has become so concerned about the leakage between official sources and the likes of store cards that he has initiated a series of initiatives to ensure that all sides are more aware of the issue.
Concern relates to the way police can demand information from providers of store loyalty cards, while councils and health boards can use and share information. Driving licence and vehicle information can also come into the picture, as can the use of some travel cards.
The action by the commissioner includes issuing guidance on individual rights, new guidance to local authorities and public bodies, and next week a draft code of practice that should be observed.
The issue was the focus of a Commons committee, which expressed concern at the way such information was routinely shared with the police.
Now Scottish local authorities and public bodies are to be contacted by the office of the Information Commissioner in England, who polices the UK Data Protection Act, which it is felt may be stretched by the current web of links between public and private organisation databases.
Store loyalty cards, public databases such as the driving licence authority and health boards, and other local authority information, including travel passes, have all combined to create a network of shared information that has alarmed the UK data commissioner.
Yesterday Richard Thomas issued advice for individuals about their rights under the law and explaining the complex links between different sources of information that can be shared.
Iain Bourne, head of data protection projects at the ICO, said: "More and more information is being shared about us, often for useful and wholly legitimate purposes. It is important that individuals are aware of their rights under the Data Protection Act."
He said that where information sharing was "expected and reasonable" it could take place without an individual's consent, but if an organisation wanted to share sensitive or confidential information such as a health record, that would require informed consent.
The ICO also issued new guidance about how public bodies should handle these issues, ahead of publishing a full draft code of practice next week.
In particular the ICO focused on the way public bodies dealt with business people. "Sharing information on business people can clearly present benefits to businesses and society generally," said Mr Bourne.
"We appreciate the need for local authorities to make best use of the information they hold, and this guidance will help make sensible judgments about how they use this information."
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