Scottish Human Rights Law Group

The Scottish Government has published a consultation on a draft set of principles to govern Identity Management and  Privacy in Scottish Public Services.  The consultation closes on 23 November 2009, and the full publication can be found here. Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth,  John Swinney states:

“Respect for privacy should be central to public services managing people’s identity information. I want the public to be able to trust and have confidence in Scottish public services that are not only effective and secure but also privacy-friendly.

Existing data protection and human rights legislation govern personal information management by providing privacy protection. These draft Identity Management and Privacy Principles have been developed for Scottish Ministers by an expert group [1] to help public service organisations comply with such legislation and support good practice. I now look forward to hearing your views on this consultation.

These guiding Principles are aimed at both policy makers and practitioners in public service organisations concerned with systems for proving identity or entitlement to public services.”

[1] The expert group’s members were: Ken Macdonald, Assistant Commissioner for Scotland, Information Commissioner’s Office: Rosemary Jay, Partner at Pinsent Masons LLP: Jerry Fishenden, Lead Technology Advisor, Microsoft UK: Gus Hosein, from Privacy International: Charles Raab, Professor Emeritus and Honorary Fellow at University of Edinburgh: Alan Kirkwood Chair of SocITM Scotland: and Duncan Macniven, Registrar General for Scotland.