L56 Response Accepted in Part AI-assessed

ICO Consult with CPS

Recommendation

A new duty should be introduced (whether formal or informal) for the Information Commissioner's Office to consult with the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to the exercise of its powers to undertake criminal proceedings.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to ICO / CPS records from February 2025, while the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have working arrangements regarding prosecution matters, no formal statutory duty for the ICO to consult with the CPS on criminal proceedings was introduced. According to the Prime Minister's November 2012 statement (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-statement-in-response-to-the-leveson-inquiry-report), data protection proposals required careful consideration.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Accepted in Part
Accepted in Part UK Government
29 Nov 2012

The Prime Minister stated on 29 November 2012 that data protection proposals required careful consideration. The Data Protection Act 2018 included some provisions implementing Leveson recommendations on data protection and journalism. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-statement-in-response-to-the-leveson-inquiry-report

Read Full Response
Note: PM David Cameron responded to all 92 recommendations with a single statement accepting them "in principle" or "in part". No per-recommendation response was published.
Published Evidence

Published assessments of implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Reasonable Progress
27 Feb 2025
ICO / CPS Other

The ICO and CPS have working arrangements on prosecution matters. However no formal statutory duty to consult was introduced. The relationship operates on an informal basis.

View detailed findings

Informal consultation arrangements exist but no formal statutory duty was introduced.

ICO enforcement approach View Source
Source
Inquiry Leveson Inquiry
Report An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press 29 Nov 2012
View Source
Responsible Bodies
UK Government Primary
Themes & Tags
Personal data privacy risks Discriminatory media reporting oversight ICO CPS Data Protection Prosecution
Recommendation age 13.3 yrs
Last formal update 4863 days ago