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HESA responds to government data protection consultation

As a key steward of higher education data HESA has responded to the UK government’s wide-ranging consultation on data protection.

HESA's response, published today, is closely aligned to the position of the Information Commissioner’s Office on matters of ethics and data protection. As a specialist organisation, acting as an intermediary data collector on behalf of other bodies, HESA’s response highlights the importance of data stewardship in serving the public interest and creating economic value while respecting privacy.

An area of the consultation of particular interest to the higher education sector addresses legislative reform in the use of personal data for scientific research. HESA’s response considers the benefits this brings to researchers, but also highlights the potential risks to scientific integrity and public confidence. The consultation response focuses on the need for further detailed engagement with the higher education sector as these proposals develop.

The government has promised to respond to feedback from the consultation in due course. The  consultation is extensive and deals with a wide range of issues and principles and HESA will continue to engage with policy developments that affect data controllers, data users and data subjects.

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