The Information Commissioner’s Office has been forced to temporarily strip commissioner John Edwards of his responsibilities following an independent workplace investigation which has found he has a “case to answer” over an undisclosed incident.
Edwards voluntarily stepped back from his role in February, although he has continued to draw his £200,000 annual salary.
The ICO insists Edwards has continued to receive updates from his support team and is available if required, but can no longer fulfil his role.
Edwards took up the role of commissioner in January 2022, having led the New Zealand privacy commission from 2014 to 2021.
However, since his appointment, the ICO has faced fierce criticism over a claimed collapse in enforcement, with a coalition of civil liberties groups slamming Edwards’ decision to shift the ICO away from major fines towards a system of public sector reprimands.
Meanwhile, human rights and privacy groups have also called for parliamentary inquiries into the ICO, targeting Edwards’ decision not to use full enforcement powers to penalise systemic government data failures, such as a major Ministry of Defence breach.
Under the ICO’s Scheme of Delegation, ICO chief executive and deputy commissioner Paul Arnold will temporarily take on Edwards’ non-delegable responsibilities. But, given the commissioner is accountable to Parliament and not directly employed by the ICO, the next steps in the process will now be determined by the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT).
DSIT have been informed of these arrangements and the Science, Innovation & Technology (SIT) Committee notified. In addition, due to the absence of the commissioner, DSIT has also designated Arnold as temporary acting accounting officer for the ICO for this period.
The regulator said that, throughout this process, the board, chief executive and executive team have continued to lead the ICO, aligned to the scheme of delegation, to ensure continuity in our leadership and regulatory work.
Arnold said: “Throughout this complex and unprecedented situation, our priority has been to provide a safe and supportive environment for our staff that enables them to carry out their important regulatory work.
“I’ve been enormously proud of the professional way in which our work has continued across the past months, and the steps we have taken today will ensure that continues to happen.”
The ICO concluded: “To protect all parties involved and maintain the integrity of the process, we are unable to provide further details at this stage.”
The move comes amid a major overhaul of the ICO, laid out in the Data (Use & Access) Act, which will see the watchdog’s governance structure brought in line with other UK regulators, which have more of a corporate composition. Out will go the commissioner and in will come a chair, a CEO and a board of non-executive directors.
It is claimed the move will make the organisation more resilient as a regulator, increasing the diversity of its strategic leadership.
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