leicester shut down

[Nick_Ips]

They did a piece yesterday on the BBC and whoever was speaking said that data sharing agreements were currently being signed. So why was data sharing not part of the original contract?? Surely that's the point of doing the testing so that everyone knows what's what??

My understanding from the various media reports (never the full story) is that there had to be agreements made between PHE and each local authority to permit PHE to authorise the release of data to the local authorities.

It isn't an issue relating to the original contract with Deloitte, but instead cutting through the red tape which prevents one government entity sharing personal data with another government entity.

Individual health-related test information is about as sensitive as it gets when it comes to data.

Imagine the outcry (probably originating from the BBC and Guardian) if PHE had illegally instructed their private contractor to release people's personal data without any safeguards in place.
 

This article by Dame Fiona Caldicott helpfully sets the scene:-
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/data-sharing-during-this-public-health-emergency

[Gadget]

Nick - see my quote from Nadine Dorris's answer to a parliamentary question about the isssue. This is  from .gov site:

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=833633.msg6985418#msg6985418

[Nick_Ips]

Nick - see my quote from Nadine Dorris's answer to a parliamentary question about the isssue. This is  from .gov site:

The question whether the contract requires Deloitte to pass on the data isn't the same as whether or not they are allowed to pass on the data.

The creation of data-sharing agreements between PHE and the LA's suggests the primary issue is ensuring the sharing of data at sub-LTLA level is lawful.

Otherwise the governmental contracting party could simply instruct Deloitte to hand the data over (subject to paying the additional costs, if any).

[Rena]

From what I've been reading, the majority of infections in the Leicester outbreak are amongst young people who are at school; and it has been alluded to that the reopening of schools could be the reason for this outbreak.

I've seen this mentioned elsewhere - it is a bit of a puzzle.

What puzzles me is hearing the percentage of residents in Leicester is aover 50% I've heard 52% and 57% from two different newsreels).  How do these people know there is accommodation and job vacancies if they don't speak English?

What makes you think that Leicester residents don't speak English?

I didn't need to use my brain at all. The reporter and then an Asian heritage community member mentioned the lack of understanding the English language. If Id' been interviewing any of the residents and they made that remark, I'd be asking particulars such as ages/gender/whether new asylum arrivals/etc

[Nick_Ips]

Nick - see my quote from Nadine Dorris's answer to a parliamentary question about the isssue. This is  from .gov site:

A bit more clarity on the postcode data / red tape issue:-

25 June

The government says on 22 June it offered local authorities exactly what Leicester was asking for - postcode data. First though, the councils had to sign a data security agreement.

Some did this quickly and started getting the information on 24 June. Leicester - the most affected authority - did not get it until the following day.

Government sources indicate that Leicester was slower than other areas.

Leicester mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby explains that "there may well have been some bureaucratic hoops for us to jump through before they released the data, but we had been asking for it for weeks by then".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53264580

It looks like the so-called "bureaucratic hoops" were a factor in getting the data released.

[Greensleeves]

For 'bureaucratic hoops' read 'government incompetence'.  I see that now the system has been changed so that both the first AND second pillars will be made available to local authorities, rather than just the former.

[Nick_Ips]

For 'bureaucratic hoops' read 'government incompetence'.

No Greensleeves, for 'bureaucratic hoops' read "Legislation to govern the processing of data and the protection of privacy, implementing the General Data Protection Regulation (commonly known as GDPR) and otherwise known as  Regulation (EU) 2016/679"

And yes, the "EU" bit does mean it is a Regulation made by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.


TL;DR - The EU made a law to protect personal data and privacy and the resulting "bureaucratic hoops" have to be jumped through. 

You'd think the Mayor of Leicester would be familiar with GDPR and its origins, rather than dismissing it as 'bureaucratic hoops'. 

[Rena]

For 'bureaucratic hoops' read 'government incompetence'.

No Greensleeves, for 'bureaucratic hoops' read "Legislation to govern the processing of data and the protection of privacy, implementing the General Data Protection Regulation (commonly known as GDPR) and otherwise known as  Regulation (EU) 2016/679"

And yes, the "EU" bit does mean it is a Regulation made by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.


TL;DR - The EU made a law to protect personal data and privacy and the resulting "bureaucratic hoops" have to be jumped through. 

You'd think the Mayor of Leicester would be familiar with GDPR and its origins, rather than dismissing it as 'bureaucratic hoops'. 

The UK did have its own Data Protection Act of 1988, was developed to control how personal or customer information is used by organisations or government bodies. which people will note was during the "!Common Market" era prior to PM Major signing the Maastricht Treaty that established the European Union.

I was a widow running a company when a government copy of the 1999 Data Protection Act dropped through the letter box.  What worried me at first reading through it was that I planned to sell up but this Act stated I couldn't give out, or sell, any data I had listed,  unless requested by the Police Force.  Thank goodness I still had the Roladex wsith all the information on the cards :-)   Please don't all write in to tell me otherwise - as I did what teachers instructed pupils to do - I re-read the documents again :-)

Apparently the loopholes have been fixed and regulations are stricter now:- Data Protection Act 1998. ... It was superseded by the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) on 23 May 2018. The DPA 2018 supplements the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into effect on 25 May 2018. The GDPR regulates the collection, storage, and use of personal data significantly more strictly.