Information Commissioner's Office

Information Commissioner (IC ) is the title of the head of the national data protection authority of the United Kingdom.

The IC is appointed by the Queen, is independent of the government and report to Parliament annually. In addition to the office of the Information Commissioner's Office in Wilmslow (England) there are regional offices in Edinburgh ( Scotland), Cardiff ( Wales) and Belfast ( Northern Ireland).

Legal bases of the Data Protection Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations of 2004.

Duties of the IC are the protection of personal data and the promotion of access to information of public administration.

Acting IC is since 2 December 2002 Richard Thomas. His predecessor was Elizabeth France, which held the office since 30 January 2001.

The IC is a member of the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party and a member of the International Conference of Data Protection Commissioner and the protection of privacy.