Biostore welcomes the introduction of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
As you may be aware, the Protection of Freedoms Bill has recently received Royal Assent, becoming the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. The Act provides much needed clarity to schools around the question of parental permission for the use of biometric systems. In essence, the Act brings the requirements into line with similar data such as photographs, where one of the child's parents needs to give their consent in order for the school to make use of such information. We expect schools will find this fits very naturally into their usual permission-gathering processes at the beginning of the school year.
We understand from the Department for Education (DfE) that starting shortly, there will be a 12-week consultation period to help establish the best method of implementing the provisions of the Act. The DfE is developing draft guidance notes for schools to be considered during the consultation period, designed to give clarity on practical questions such as whether an email will be an acceptable way for a parent to communicate consent and how long the implementation period will be. Recent conversations with the DfE indicate an expectation that the Act will come into force in September 2013.
BioStore is pleased the provisions of this Act are consistent with the way other data is covered under the Data Protection Act 1998. We are also pleased the DfE have indicated a 'light touch' approach to the implementation of the Act, so we hope schools will find the guidance notes supportive of a reasonable and practical approach to working towards compliance. BioStore will be consulting with the DfE on the draft guidance, and we will bring you up to date when the guidance is finally published later this year.
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