News

When a teacher was offered the headship of an infants school and a request was made for a police check, enquiries revealed that two separate investigations had been carried out following allegations of inappropriate behaviour with children at schools where the teacher had been employed.

No charges were brought because the crown prosecution service had been of the opinion that there was insufficient evidence.

The school then withdrew the offer of employment. The applicant applied for judicial review, arguing that the decision to pass on the information was unfair, and contravened the provisions of the Data Protection Acts of 1984 and 1998 and the Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data) Order 2000.

The court held that it was legitimate for the police to transfer sensitive personal information, even though there had been no conviction. There was no impropriety where a police force communicated that information to a local education authority since that authority would have a lawful interest and a pressing need to receive it.

Those who were required to obtain such information in order to pass it on to an appropriate authority were required to give consideration to the need to pass it on. The receiving authority should make its own enquiries having been put on notice of the previous investigations.

The disclosure was not contrary to the Data Protection Act 1998 as the information fell within the category of 'sensitive personal data' which was exempt by virtue of the first data protection principle, namely that data was being processed for the prevention and detection of crime. The disclosure was also permissible in view of the provisions of the Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data) Order 2000, which exempted data where the processing was necessary for the exercise of any functions conferred on a constable by any rule of law.

This decision related to events which preceded the implementation of the Data Protection Act 1998 in October 2000, but as can be seen, the judge specifically held that the position would have been the same under that act and the order made under it. Although the decision related to a teacher, it could clearly be relevant to anyone working with children.

(R v Chief Constables of C and D, ex parte A [2001] 2 FCR 431)

Richard White

White and Sherwin Solicitors