New data protection British standard

Updated January 2009

In order to assist organisations in complying with the Data Protection Act 1998, the BSI British Standards Institute will issue, later on this year, a standard on managing personal information effectively. The standard, DPC BS 10012, will provide instructions on how to create and manage a personal information management system and will focus on ensuring that an organisation provides sufficient guidance and resources, for example staffing, rather than prescribing exactly how operations should be run.

BSI expects that the standard will be used widely by both public and private sector organisations. A consultation is currently open on how the standard should look and a draft standard has been published.

The consultation will be open until 31 March 2009. Please see the BSI website for more information.

This publication is intended for general guidance and represents our understanding of the relevant law and practice as at January 2009. Specific advice should be sought for specific cases; we cannot be held responsible for any action (or decision not to take action) made in reliance upon the content of this publication.