Author Archives: Phil

Response to Geoff Mulgan’s “Will open data be a damp squib?”

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Phil

Geoff’s piece, Will open data be a damp squib? prompted me to comment. At length. And wander around a bit. So for what it’s worth… An alternate view: the ‘value’ of open data is a function of its impact in … Continue reading →

Posted in choice and consent, database state, medical confidentiality, open data | Leave a comment

The ID scheme rides again… *sigh*

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Phil

A copy of the comment I left on the slides to Cabinet Office / Government Digital Service’s recent ‘SPRINT 13’ conference, Workshop 2 on “Electoral Registration Transformation”: Please provide a human-readable transcript! The following is just gobbledegook, e.g. ‘5. Electoral … Continue reading →

Posted in database state, GDS, ID cards | Leave a comment

Permanent Secretaries’ objectives, plus links

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Phil

Published on 20th December 2012, the list of Permanent Secretaries’ objectives unfortunately omits to name the Department for which each person is Permanent Secretary. (Indicative of a Whitehall mindset where such knowledge is assumed, or of the extraordinary level of … Continue reading →

Posted in transparency | Leave a comment

‘Opening’ the National Pupil Database: a parent’s response

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Phil

The Department for Education proposes to ‘widen access’ to the information held in the National Pupil Database, changing the ‘purposes’ for which it can be shared. Or in other words, it intends to share your kids’ personal data, which it … Continue reading →

Posted in National Pupil Database | 1 Comment

The other Comms Data report

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Phil

Quick note if you’ve come here from Twitter: I joined Twitter a couple of months ago and am still learning the ropes. @frabcus pointed out that my timeline is hard to read, so I’ve now Storified my relevant Tweets from … Continue reading →

Posted in communications data | 1 Comment