Outsourcing

I was reading through the latest article on outsourcing about concerns that some of the key services by the UK government, Department of Work and Pensions may be transferred abroad. What is unclear is where there are transferring these services and whether the UK government have really considered the implications of the Data Protection Act 1998 (see also the eight data protection principle). Security aside, perhaps the question that arises, is how "adequate" are the laws abroad to protect the personal information of individuals?

I recall one instance in which an investigative reporter was able to obtain personal details belonging to UK bank customers from a call centre in Delhi. Although, this matter has been investigated by the Information Commissioner (see another article) with the conclusion that the security procedures of call centres in India were robust, it raises serious issues about the extent of offshoring activities - I raise these questions because India does not currently have data protection laws, but have been planning to do so (how long, one awaits to see).

For more information on data protection however, see the UK Information Commissioner website.