Government confirms favoured candidate to be the UKâs next Information Commissioner

Elizabeth Dunham is the Government’s preferred candidate to become the UK’s next Information Commissioner is. Ms Dunham is the Information and Privacy Commissioner in British Columbia, Canada.

Subject to a pre-scrutiny hearing by the Culture, Media and Sports Select Committee and final approval from The Queen, Ms Denham will take over from the incumbent Christopher Graham in the summer of 2016.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe, minister for data protection, said: “The work of the Information Commissioner is vital for public and business alike. I’m pleased that we are recommending Elizabeth Denham to take on this role. She has a track record of working with business and other stakeholders, as well as a proactive approach to enforcing data protection law.”

On hearing the news Elizabeth Denham said: “I am honoured to be nominated for the position of Information Commissioner for the UK. I believe the rapid pace of technological change we face will continue to accelerate and present challenges to information rights – we must ensure access to information while maintaining high standards of data protection. The Information Commissioner’s Office has a global reputation for practical, innovative and responsive regulation. I look forward to contributing to this work.”

Assuming her candidacy passes the relevant hurdles, Ms Denham will serve a 5-year term starting from the summer of 2016.

The DMA will post a longer article about Elizabeth Denham’s previous experience later this week.