Questionnaire: EU-UK Data Adequacy

Overview

Introduction

The free flow of data underpins the modern economy and is important to organisations working across many sectors. It also assists with law enforcement agencies tackling crime, supports the delivery of critical public services and facilitates health and scientific research.

As a result, there are many organisations which rely on the transfer of personal data across borders. In a Northern Ireland context, flows of personal data from the EU, including the Republic of Ireland, are important to a wide range of organisations operating on a cross border basis.

Background

Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, free flow of personal data from the EU to the UK is underpinned by data adequacy decisions.

The EU adopted two adequacy decisions for the UK, one under the General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) and the other under the Law Enforcement Directive (LED). 

These adequacy decisions allow the continued free flow of personal data from the EU into the UK.

The EU’s decision to grant the UK data adequacy status means that UK businesses and organisations can continue to receive personal data from the EU without having to put additional arrangements in place.

However, having data adequacy status now does not guarantee that it will always be there in future.

More information on data adequacy can be found on the ICO’s website at Adequacy | ICO .

Why your views matter

The Department for the Economy is seeking to engage with organisations in Northern Ireland to better understand their levels of cross border data transfer and how important EU personal data is to their functions and operations.

We are also seeking to understand the potential impacts on businesses and organisations, with a base or operations in Northern Ireland, if the UK were to lose its adequacy status and, subsequently, the free flow of personal data from the EU to the UK. 

We would therefore welcome your views.

Privacy Notice and Data handling 

Please read the attached privacy notice before proceeding.

A summary of all responses may be placed on the Department’s website.  This will include a list of the organisations that responded but will not include personal details for example, people’s names, home addresses or contact details.

However, information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be subject to publication or disclosure under access to information legislation (primarily the Data Protection Act 2018/the General Data Protection Regulation 2018; Freedom of Information Act 2000, and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004).

For this reason, you should identify in your response any information you do not wish to be disclosed and explain why this is the case.  Please note that an automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the Department.

If we receive a request for disclosure of this information we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances.

For further information about how we process your personal data, please see our Privacy Notice attached. 

Quality assurance

This consultation has been carried out in accordance with the Department for the Economy's Information Management Unit.

Complaints

If you have any complaints about the consultation process (as opposed to comments about the issues which are the subject of the consultation) please address them to: gareth.millar@economy-ni.gov.uk or to the Departmental Complaints Officer at DfEmail@economy-ni.gov.uk.

Details of the Department’s Complaint Process can be found at:

• Customer Service Complaints Procedure

What happens next

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