Information Commissioner's Office: Complaints

(asked on 16th July 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Information Commissioner on resolving the delay caused by the covid-19 outbreak in responding to complaints about the use of personal data particularly in regard to fraud.


Answered by
John Whittingdale Portrait
John Whittingdale
This question was answered on 26th July 2021

The Independent Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is aware that criminal organisations and individuals have used the Covid-19 outbreak for fraudulent activity, for example by taking advantage of the economic downturn to encourage innocent victims to apply for financial relief funds in exchange for their personal details.

The ICO remains ready to investigate any complaints about organisations taking advantage of the current pandemic, providing they fall within their remit on the mis-use of personal data. If the complaint falls outside of their remit, the ICO will refer them to their partners in law enforcement, Action Fraud, Trading Standards or other relevant bodies.

The ICO acknowledges that it began the last financial year carrying vacancies in its operational areas, but this has now been addressed and should allow them to deal with cases quicker. The ICO was still able to deal with around 84% of cases within six months of receipt and expects to improve that significantly during the financial year 2021/ 2022. The ICO have also implemented a new casework management system, which they expect to provide efficiencies as they develop its functionality in the coming year.

A full analysis of how the ICO responded to the challenges of Covid-19 will be covered in a separate report to Parliament, which will be published over the summer. The report will include details of the lessons learned that will inform the ICO's future approach.

Reticulating Splines