States must foot £1.3m. data protection bill for further year
DELAYS in reaching an agreement on how to fund the Data Protection Authority mean the States will have to put aside another £1.3m. to fund the body next year as the committees involved thrash out a deal.
Small businesses and sole traders, which have been exempt from signing up, will also not have to register with it for another year.
The Office of the Data Protection Authority is working with the States towards agreeing a self-funding model to ensure it is financially independent.
This model would meet its operational costs, mostly from annual fees of around £25 to £50 per entity per year.
In November 2018, the authority and Home Affairs submitted a joint proposal to Policy & Resources outlining ‘an innovative, low-cost, low-admin, equitable self-funding model’ that would involve automatically tacking on a ‘data protection fee’ to Guernsey Registry’s annual validation process. The proposed fee was 10% of any given entity’s annual validation fee.
This model was supported by P&R, but Economic Development was against it.
‘All parties continue to work closely with the aim of developing a model that everyone can support and that works for local businesses.
‘While the details of the model are being worked out it makes sense to maintain the status quo (i.e. keep exemptions in place) to minimise disruption to Bailiwick organisations,’ the DPA said.
The Bailiwick’s data protection commissioner, Emma Martins, pictured left, said the extension would ensure local businesses continue to run well.
‘For the past year we have been working hard to try to reach agreement with the States of Guernsey on how the ODPA’s operational activities are funded,’ she said.
‘Above all else, we want to ensure that we agree on a fair, low-cost, low-admin model that allows local businesses to concentrate their efforts on running their businesses well rather than filling in bureaucratic forms.
‘We continue to pursue that goal.’
Any local entity, such as small businesses and sole traders, who are currently exempt will need to register at the beginning of 2021, when they will be under a legal obligation under The Data Protection (Bailiwick of Guernsey), Law 2017 to pay an annual fee.
