back to article Wide-ranging UK DATA SHARING moves one step closer

I suspect the UK government is going to ditch the Law Commission recommendations on data sharing; this is because it wants a quick implementation of its own extensive data sharing proposals. In short, general data sharing powers are now on the political agenda again. This is the third time in a decade the government has tried …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    so we're back to ID cards again ...

    or rather the database behind them.

    The only way "data-sharing" can work, is if you know person A in database A is the same as person A in database B.

    That needs a master database.

    Time to not be called John Smith. I, for one, am glad of my unique combination of names ....

    1. tirk
      Coat

      Unique combination of names?

      Pah, that's nothing!

      http://xkcd.com/327/

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Joke

      Re: so we're back to ID cards again ...

      "Time to not be called John Smith. I, for one, am glad of my unique combination of names ...."

      I suppose this is a bad time to tell you that this initiative involves replacing your name with a UPC code tatooed on your forehead?

    3. daemonoid

      Re: so we're back to ID cards again ...

      Any chance we can get the ID cards without the master database? Perhaps just two documents from the IPS?

      Living outside the UK and travelling frequently I rely on my passport, yet its the only part of my life where I don't have a suitable disaster recovery/mitigation plan... Passport lost/stolen/damaged and I cannot effectively live or work.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "we-are-considerably-richer-than-yow"

    So who's exempt from this?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    They're off again

    What's with this "any-excuse" thing about government wanting to spread one's data as far afield as possible - even to departments who (on the face of it) should not be concerned or included? It seems to me that the bigger the database, the bigger the risk of having it hacked by some charmless miscreant(s) and personal details ending up plastered all over the net or in some spammer's hands. I resent MY details being passed around in this way.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Go

    Oh come on, Reg...

    Emperor Palpatine swears that he needs these powers to preserve the republic, and that he will sunset them after the emergency has passed. Who are we to not take him at his word?! :)

  5. Oldfogey
    FAIL

    Health

    I notice in yesterdays Times that the health data sharing proposals that were put on one side earlier this year are back on the table. Following the strong reaction against the idea, they are now proposing trials on how to better "explain" the proposals to the public in order to avoid a new flood of objections.

    There are, of course, no proposals to address the actual weaknesses of the system, such as the quite inadequate anonomisation.

    I can see I will be passing round the opt-out forms again!

    1. David Pollard

      NHS care.data

      Other than that there will be a number of regional centres rather than a single database, it looks as though little has changed.

      http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/2374495/nhs-england-to-forge-ahead-with-unchanged-caredata-plans

      http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/07/care-data-patient-information-accredited-safe-havens

      http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/records/healthrecords/Pages/care-data.aspx

      "Your date of birth, full postcode, NHS Number and gender rather than your name will be used to link your records in a secure system, managed by the HSCIC. Once this information has been linked, a new record will be created. This new record will not contain information that identifies you."

  6. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Gimp

    It's the *arrogance* of the phrasing that is just breath taking.

    The never ending demands for your data.

    "Opt outs" that aren't worth the photons used to generate them on screen.

    The presumption that the civil service government "needs" this data to be collected and shared (with damm near anyone)

    The fact that the governments change but the calls remain the same speaks to the same cabal of data fetishists who continue to want to foist there illness on everyone as policy.

  7. tfewster
    Flame

    ODFO...

    ...<Insert name of political party currently in power*>

    * i.e. currently the focus of Civil "Service" propagandists about the paedorristcalypse that will follow if public servants aren't given everything they want.

    When every public servant and politician [not necessarily the same thing] is on this database - Then I'll reconsider my opt-out

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The bigger the database

    Its not so much the bigger the database, bigger the risk. It's the bigger and more comprehensive the database the more our, sorry, THE government can charge private companies for access to it.

  9. cantankerousswineherd

    just to be clear, I'm against data sharing, whether or not there is recourse for the victims.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like