Data Protection Act under review

Wednesday, 24 December 2003 12:00 AM

The Government is to urgently review the 1998 Data Protection Act, following the inquest into the tragic death of an elderly couple who were found dead two weeks after their gas supply was disconnected.

British Gas said it did not pass on George and Gertrude Bates' details to social services because of their right to privacy.

It is hoped the review will shine light on the complexities of the legislation but the Government said root and branch changes to the legislation were unlikely.

The Data Protection Act has also been criticised for preventing police from maintaining a record of sexual assault allegations against Ian Huntley, killer of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Health Secretary John Reid: "If there are data protection regulations that prevent people's lives being saved there's obviously something wrong.

"The whole point of these regulations is to protect people's privacy. It is not to put their lives in danger."

Lord Filkin, minister at the Department for Constitutional Affairs, said his department would work to provide additional guidance on how energy suppliers inform relevant bodies if lives were at risk.

Virginia Graham, director of social and environmental affairs at Ofgem said yesterday that most people were unaware of the Priority Service Register.

The elderly couple had not signed up to the Priority Service Register despite being eligible for it.

Sian Griffiths, the president of the Faculty of Public Health, said the Government ought to do more to raise awareness about heating grants.

'It is not that the Government is not doing nothing, just that they are not doing enough - they are just not doing enough, and not making it obvious enough to people to help them get these grants.'

The Met Office predicts that 2,500 people in the UK will die unnecessarily this week as a result of the cold.

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