Legislation to introduce GDPR into UK law begins its journey through parliament

Legislation to introduce the requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation into UK law has had its first reading in the House of Lords.

The EU’s GDPR legislation is due to come into force on 25 May 2018 and will bring in stricter requirements for organisations that process data than are currently required under the Data Protection Act 1998. It will allow the Information Commissioner’s Office to levy fines of up to £17m or 4 per cent of global turnover on organisations that breach the rules.

The Data Protection Bill, which updated the Data Protection Act 1998 by incorporating the GDPR requirements, was introduced by Lord Ashton of Hyde, the culture, media and sports minister in the House of Lords.

Bills are typically not debated at their first reading but will be discussed by peers at the second reading, which is due to take place on 10 October.

In overview guidance, the government said the bill would implement the GDPR standards, but also provide clarity on the definitions used in the GDPR in the UK context.

The bill includes a number of modifications to the GDPR on areas in which the EU allowed individual countries to set their own policies, such as the age from which parental consent is not needed to process data online, which the bill sets as 13, and exemptions to the rules for academic research, financial services and child protection.

The Charity Commission had previously expressed concern about the GDPR’s requirements for processing sensitive personal data, particularly concerning someone’s criminal convictions, which say that only “bodies vested with official authority” can process such information.

It is unclear whether this would include the commission. The commission said that if it did not, this could impede its ability to regulate effectively.

But in a statement announcing the bill, the government said the bill would allow the processing of sensitive and criminal conviction data without consent “where it is justified”, suggesting the commission would be able to do so.

“Organisations which already operate at the standard set by the Data Protection Act 1998 should be well placed to reach the new standards,” the guidance document says.

“The bill will mean that UK organisations are best placed to continue to exchange information with the EU and international community, which is fundamental to many businesses.”

It said the Information Commissioner was already working to help businesses comply with the new law from May 2018 and would be taking “a fair and reasonable approach” to enforcement after it enters the statute book.

In a statement on the ICO website, Elizabeth Denham, the Information Commissioner, said: “The introduction of the Data Protection Bill is welcome as it will put in place one of the final pieces of much-needed data protection reform.

“Effective, modern data-protection laws with robust safeguards are central to securing the public’s trust and confidence in the use of personal information within the digital economy, the delivery of public services and the fight against crime.”

She said she would provide her own input as necessary during the legislative process.

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Law Commission puts forward a raft of changes to charity law

Proposals include removing the legal barriers to charities merging and helping them amend their governing documents more easily

Charity law should be reformed to ensure it does not discourage volunteers or “prevent or delay legitimate charitable activities”, a new report from the Law Commission says.

The 350-page report, Technical Issues in Charity Law, which follows a four-year project by the Law Commission to review charity law, recommends removing unnecessary bureaucracy that affects charities while ensuring proper protections for the public remain in place.

Among the proposals are removing legal barriers to charities merging when a merger is in their best interests and helping charities amend their governing documents more easily, with Charity Commission oversight when necessary.

Charities should also have more flexibility to seek tailored advice when they sell land, with unnecessary administrative burdens removed, the report says.

Trustees should be given advance assurance that litigation costs in the charity tribunal can be paid from the charity’s funds, the report says, and charities should have more flexibility to use their permanent endowments, as long as checks are in place to ensure their long-term protection.

The report says the law does not give the Charity Commission all the necessary tools to promote trust in the charity sector. It therefore suggests allowing the commission to confirm that trustees have been properly appointed, giving it powers to prevent charities using misleading names and forming a single set of criteria to decide changes to a charity’s purposes.

Nick Hopkins, law commissioner for property, family and trust law, said: “As it is, some of the technical law around charities is inefficient and unduly complex. Our reforms would help make sure charities use their time and money in the best way to support their good causes, while providing oversight to ensure public confidence.”

Nicola Evans, chair of the Charity Law Association, said: “As the Law Commission’s report today notes, its recommendations are technical but important, with real practical consequences for charities. It offers a real opportunity to remove some of the complexity and inconsistencies that can make charity law difficult both to apply and to regulate.

“I hope the government will now bring forward the draft bill to implement some much-needed reform.”

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, who chaired a 2012 review of the Charities Act 2006, which found that charities faced a number of historical obstacles under existing law, also welcomed the reforms and called for their swift implementation by the government.

Carol Mack, chief executive of the Association for Charitable Foundations, welcomed the changes that allow foundations to borrow from their endowments for large projects and give them greater scope to make social investments.

Kenneth Dibble, chief legal adviser at the Charity Commission, said the report made “a number of sensible and timely recommendations”.

He said: “We have worked closely with the Law Commission throughout its charity law project, which supports our strategic priority of enabling trustees to run their charities more effectively and, we hope, will increase public trust and confidence.

“We will continue to work with government and other stakeholders to ensure that the impact of these changes are fully understood and would support government bringing forward the implementation of these proposals in the coming months.”

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DCMS announces plan to enshrine GDPR in law

The Data Protection Bill includes clauses that allow the UK to maintain the General Data Protection Regulation even after it leaves the EU

The Department for Digital, Media & Sport has announced plans to formally bring the General Data Protection Regulation into British law in its new Data Protection Bill.

The EU’s GDPR legislation is due to come into force on 25 May 2018 and will bring in stricter requirements for organisations that process data than are currently required under the Data Protection Act 1998 and will allow the Information Commissioner’s Office to levy fines of up to £17m or 4 per cent of global turnover on organisations that breach the rules.

A statement of intent on the proposed bill, published today, makes it clear that the government intends to maintain the requirements of the GDPR even after the UK leaves the EU in March 2019.

It acknowledges that the GDPR applies only to areas of law for which the EU has oversight.

But it adds: “This means that our own laws will need to apply data protections to other areas, and we intend to apply substantively the same standards to all general data in order to create a clear and coherent data-protection regime.”

Although charities will be required to adhere to the GDPR across all aspects of their work, the most controversial area it will have an impact on is fundraising, and the statement of intent reiterates the government’s commitment to enforce the GDPR’s more stringent requirements on consent.

“We will ensure that the default reliance on the use of default opt-out or pre-selected ‘tick boxes’ – which are, in any case, largely ignored – will become a thing of the past,” it says.

In a letter to stakeholders accompanying the announcement, Matt Hancock, the Minister of State for Digital, said the government would work with the Information Commissioner to ensure that guidance was available to help organisations navigate the new requirements.

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Daniel Fluskey, head of policy and research at the Institute of Fundraising, said: “Reading today’s announcement, we understand that the new Data Protection Bill’s focus is on bringing the GDPR requirements into domestic law ready for the post-Brexit world.

“Charities are continuing to adapt and change how they work, not just to meet new legislative requirements, but to ensure that they are giving the best experience to their supporters. We’ll be looking closely at the details when the bill is published later in the year to ensure any issues affecting fundraisers are considered in the new legislation.”

The DCMS also published the responses to its consultation on the areas of the GDPR where the UK has been able to exercise some discretion in how the law is applied.

The Charity Commission was among those organisations that responded to the consultation.

In its response, the regulator expressed concerns about the GDPR’s requirements for processing sensitive personal data, particularly concerning someone’s criminal convictions, which say that only “bodies vested with official authority” can process such information.

It is not clear whether this would include the commission, and the commission expressed concern that it could “significantly impede its regulation of charities” if it was unable to access information about someone’s previous convictions that would disqualify them from serving as a trustee.

But in its statement of intent, the government says it listened to such concerns and would legislate to extend the right to process personal data on criminal convictions and offences to other organisations.

A spokesman for the DCMS said the bill would be put before parliament after the summer recess and the government was committed to ensuring it was passed before the GDPR came into force.

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Modernising of legacy law is vital, says Remember A Charity

The legacy consortium is backing proposals in a consultation on the issue launched by the Law Commission

Plans to modernise the law on the making of wills could be crucial to encouraging more people to leave charitable donations in their bequests, according to the legacy consortium Remember A Charity.

The Law Commission has launched a consultation on proposed changes to legacy law, which it says is outdated and often does not allow courts to implement people’s wishes, even if they are clear, because they have not followed legal procedure entirely correctly.

Under the new proposals, the Lord Chancellor would have the power to make provision for electronic wills and the age for being able to make a will would fall from 18 to 16.

The commission has proposed giving the courts the power to recognise a will in cases where formal rules have not been followed but the will-maker has made their intentions clear.

It has also put forward measures that would overhaul the rules protecting anyone who makes a will from being unduly influenced by another person.

The proposals include an update to the rules around mental capacity to reflect modern medical understanding of conditions such as dementia and to provide statutory guidance for doctors and other professionals when assessing someone’s mental capacity.

Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, said the moves could raise millions for charity each year by closing the gap between the 35 per cent of people who say they would like to leave money to charity in their wills and the 6 per cent who actually do.

“When you consider that hundreds of thousands of people in the UK die intestate each year, leaving no clear guidelines as to how any assets should be divided among their family, friends and good causes, it is long overdue that the will-writing process is made more accessible, helping to ensure that people’s final wishes are met,” he said.

“If the legal sector succeeds in making it easier for people to write wills, while putting adequate safeguards in place for the public and minimising the opportunity for contested wills, this could be a critical step forward for legacy giving.

“Ultimately, the more people that write wills, the greater the potential for including charitable donations.”

The Law Commission consultation will run until 10 November.

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