In a paper presented today, Dr Karen McCullagh studies the effectiveness of the regulator - currently the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – since its creation almost 30 years ago.
Dr McCullagh said that her studies of the regulators investigative and enforcement powers led to her to believe that they ‘have been, and continue to be, lamentably weak and ineffective’.

Enforcement powers

She added: ‘Despite the much-lauded enhanced powers for regulators in the proposed EU data protection regulation, there is a real risk that the ICO will remain an ineffective regulator in the future if the UK government does not take measures to create an adequately funded and properly staffed regulatory office, with appropriate investigative and enforcement powers.’
‘If the proposed EU regulation is implemented in its current form, the ICO will face a budgetary shortfall of £42.8m – an issue the UK government has yet to address, even though it will seriously impede the effectiveness of the regulator.’