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The Data Protection Act 1998 was designed to protect people against any improper use of personal information But two recent headline stories - the Soham murders and the death of two older people who had not paid a gas bill - have raised questions as to whether the legislation is fundamentally flawed or being misinterpreted by those using it. Home secretary David Blunkett has called for an inquiry into the way in which police handled information on allegations against Ian Huntley prior to the murders. Humberside police claimed the act obliged the force to delete computer records of unproven allegations after 28 days. In the second case an 89-year-old south London man died of hypothermia and his 86-year-old wife suffered a heart attack after their gas was cut off for non-payment. British Gas stated that in the past it would notify social services of disconnections of vulnerable clients. But he claimed that restrictions under the Data Protection Act meant that this could now only happen when the disconnection took place without the customer's consent.   

Bill Badham, development officer, National Youth Agency
"My hunch is that the law is not to blame but the people who make judgments like those in these two cases could well be. Yet, current political fashion will probably risk unnecessary encroachment on our civil liberties under the guise of promoting public protection. As the massive, mysterious billboard message that appeared in Washington DC reminds us: 'Read Orwell'."

Karen Squillino, children's service manager, Barnardo's
"There have certainly been failings in the sharing and processing of information concerning Huntley and his background. But one can not lay blame at the door of the Data Protection Act and its misinterpretation. From my understanding of the case, information was collated and shared in accordance with the eight principles of the act. As I see it the act falls short where there are child protection concerns. Decisions need to be made as to how "soft" information is used and shared in such cases, bearing in mind that human rights legislation has to be upheld. Here we have another example of different acts failing to work in harmony."

Martin Green, chief executive, Counsel and Care
"These terrible cases have brought into sharp focus the ignorance that exists about the Data Protection Act. The government must take some responsibility for the fact that there are just too many sets of complex laws and regulations, many of which contradict each other, and not enough support and guidance on how to balance the contradictions. The sensationalist reporting of both these cases in the media is also very unhelpful and does not lead to a rational debate on how to improve the situation."

Felicity Collier, chief executive, Baaf Adoption and Fostering
"These cases have certainly exposed flaws in the interpretation of the act. The act does not say you should never share information, but rather you should share it and store it appropriately. At first sight the police in the Soham case did neither - they wiped the computer copies but kept hard copies which were too difficult to access in a useful timescale."

Julia Ross, social services director, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
"The dilemma of how to protect the good citizen from a big brother state without helping alleged paedophiles - or over-officious gas personnel come to that - is an enduring one. The gas company's argument doesn't wash. It would have been common sense surely to have notified social services - it was clear that nobody was being accused of anything. Soham is harder because one arrest or one suspicion that goes nowhere could besmirch someone's record. It's all a matter of how often it happens. Why not 'three strikes and you're in'? Anyone who has three accusations and starts to be a worry to the professionals, should stay on the record and be circulated because they may well be a danger to others".