Data Initiatives Money Pit

Luci Penn, Managing Director

You cannot fail to have noticed the previous Government's unbridled attraction to data. Personal data, including its collection, digitisation, sharing and/or usage, has driven many costly projects at the expense of our privacy.

Often their objectives are well-intentioned, but the repeated disregard for an individual’s privacy has far outweighed the potential benefits. In fact, they could well nominate themselves for a Darwin Award www.darwinawards.com which celebrates those who accidently remove themselves from the species (in this case office) through ill-conceived (or idiotic) actions. But at least they’d win something!

The Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Report – Database State (www.jrrt.org.uk/uploads/database-state.pdf) illustrates this by citing 11 data related initiatives as being “almost certainly illegal” with a further 29 as having “significant problems, and may be unlawful”. Whilst development on the £224m ContactPoint (database of every child in the UK) continued despite a Deloitte & Touche report indicating that the highly sensitive information contained within it could never be secure.

The laissez-faire attitude continued when the infamous clause 152 slipped into a draft of the Coroners & Justice Bill which seemingly attempted to allow Government to obtain and use data as they pleased regardless of the Data Protection Act.

Let’s hope that the Conservatives and Lib Dem coalition government continues with its intentions to halt this fast-paced data affair by scrapping many initiatives developed or in development by Labour.

Initiatives such as ID Cards, National Identity Register, and ContactPoint were all earmarked to be abandoned, despite having cost several billions of pounds to date. It remains to be seen whether these intentions remain on the political agenda - there will certainly be huge backing for such moves.

However, I can’t help but feel a little miffed about the scale of the Investment thus far. As a nation we face the cold reality of a £164bn deficit and such initiatives (collectively running into billions themselves) have simply contributed to that debt. Let’s hope the new Government balances the drive for progress with a respect for our privacy before signing away money we don’t have.

DVLA: Slick Strategy?!

Richard Anderson,
Business Development Director

Ok. I confess. I hadn't realised the youthful photograph that adorns my driving licence is not good enough anymore being over 10-years-old. While it might not sound like terribly negligent behaviour on the surface, I had also forgotten to inform DVLA that I changed my address 2 1/2 years ago. So how did I find out the photo had expired? The irony is that DVLA have relocated me to my new address using a suppression file.

So is this a great example of database enhancement? The letter I received was a little Big Brother-esque in tone "The photo on your driving licence will expire shortly.... In preparing this letter DVLA has checked the last address you gave us with records held by a commercial partner". Very stern and a little disconcerting but it was reassuring to see the information was accurate.

After further reading it was clear that DVLA had already experienced issues with their suppression service as a caveat in the mailing states, "If the person we sent this letter to no longer lives at this address, please destroy this letter." My suspicion that DVLA had sent out two mailings at the same time was confirmed a few weeks later when the original letter, which had been set to my former address at exactly the same time as the other letter, arrived on my doormat. Surely, it would have been worth seeing if I responded at the first address before sending out the tester to my new address?

So, while the strategy employed by DVLA was pretty slick there are a couple of potential pitfalls I think it’s worth noting. First, the letter to my old address could have been opened by the current occupants, opening up the opportunities for identity fraud. The tone of the letter to my new address alludes to an all seeing eye, which is a real turn off. The letters weren't phased to allow any natural interaction with the "customer". And finally, relocation products are not 100% reliable so my details could have gone to the wrong house providing yet another fraud opp.

Ultimately, DVLA's objective to get in contact with me was achieved however, as a word of caution to those attempting to relocate lapsed customers, put yourself in the shoes of the intended recipient and invest time in getting the creative and message just right in order to avoid them feeling "found". A softly softly approach is more likely to give them an opportunity to reengage with you naturally.

Right, back to my passport renewal form. Mrs A won't be happy if we have to miss our next escape to the sun!