Data Sharing In Public Administration: The Balance Between Efficiency And Privacy

The development of ICT in public administration has transformed the way in which public services are delivered to citizens. This has had, and will have, great benefits for society and the common good. However, it brings with it serious risks. In particular, the use of ICT has enabled government agencies to collect more, and more detailed, data about its citizens. At present, this data is collected by a number of different government agencies – for example tax authorities, social security offices and health departments. Each agency sees only a fragment of the total amount of data collected about each citizen. But if this data were to be shared between agencies, a very detailed picture would emerge. The pressure for data sharing is increasing. Governments wish to make more efficient use of the data they collect in order to achieve greater efficiency in the delivery of public services, what the UK government in its Consultation Paper ‘Privacy and Data Sharing: The Way Forward for Public Services’ described as

“…making better use of personal data to deliver smarter public services”.

This paper will argue that public authorities must be seen to comply fully with all of the provisions of the Data Protection Directive and the European Convention on Human Rights. It will concentrate on developments in the UK, but the issues are common to governments across Europe and, indeed, the world.