Question and answer with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) - September 2017.

As you will see there are a few areas of confusion including -

- Childminder annual costs from May 2018 – not yet decided.

- Will childminders who do not use online record keeping or digital cameras (ie childminders who use paper only) need to pay under GDPR?

- Will childminders need to keep paying the annual ICO fee when they have stopped work because of the insurance requirement to retain paperwork until the child is 21 years 3 months old?

- What happens when a childminder dies? ... Valid for many if they want us to keep paying until the child is 21!

I have asked Pre-school Learning Alliance (PLA) to urgently look into this on behalf of childminders.

GDPR will be law from 1st May 2018 and we do not have long to get organised and spread the word if change is coming.

Sarah

Question 1 – will childminders need to keep paying ICO when GDPR is introduced?

ICO answer - the way the ICO is funded is determined by government. DCMS (The Department for Culture, Media and Sport) is responsible for the ICOs funding arrangements. ICO data protection work has been funded for many years through annual fees paid by those who process personal information and have to register with us under the Data Protection Act (DPA).

When the DPA is replaced by the GDPR next May 2018, a new way of funding will need to be introduced. The Digital Economy Act, passed earlier this year, includes the power for the Secretary of State to include secondary legislation to introduce a funding regime for the ICO. The Secretary of State has not yet introduced the secondary legislation but we expect to hear more on this soon.

Our understanding is that the future funding of the ICO will be based on similar arrangements to those in place at present, however we are not currently in a position to advise on whether it will be a requirement under the new legislation to register with us if you process personal data using paper based systems until the secondary legislation has been introduced.

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Question 2 – how long must childminders keep paying ICO?

ICO answer - under GDPR, this is similar to existing requirements under the DPA. The GDPR states that ‘personal information must be kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which those data are processed'.

You therefore need to ensure that you don't keep information for longer than you need it. If it is an insurance requirement to keep records until a child is 21 years and 3 months old, this will likely help you determine how long you should maintain those records for.

I can't advise on how long payment will need to be made as this is dependent on the secondary legislation that needs to be introduced; however I expect that you will need to continue registering with us for as long as you are processing personal data.

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Question 3 – will GDPR be impacted by Brexit?

ICO answer - The UK decision to leave the EU will not affect the commencement of the GDPR. The Government has confirmed that we will still be implementing the GDPR.

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Question 4 – are childminders required to have a privacy notice to inform parents how we process information about their child/ren?

ICO answer - Yes. If you are processing personal information you will need to communicate to individuals/parents how you are processing their (and their child's) data.

We have updated our guidance on privacy notices under GDPR. You may find it helpful to refer to this: Privacy notices under the EU General Data Protection Regulation | ICO

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Question 5 - will childminder registration prices go up under GDPR?

ICO answer - this has not yet been decided. We are waiting for secondary legislation before we can answer.


ICO state: further general information about the forthcoming changes under GDPR can be found on our microsite here: Data protection reform | ICO