Consultation begins on data protection fee rises

In the consultation, secretary of state for science, innovation and technology Peter Kyle said that the increases to the annual data protection fees would amount to between £15 and £22 for 99% of fee payers. 

There are currently three tiers of fees payable, based on an organisation’s size and turnover, with tier one (micro-organisations) paying £40, £60 for tier two organisations and large tier three organisations paying £2,900, with a £5 discount applying to payments made by direct debit across all tiers.

The fees have not been increased since their introduction in 2018 and the fee for controllers in tier one who pay by direct debit has not changed since 2000.

The proposals aim to secure the financial resources required to support the ICO in fulfilling its functions under data protection legislation, such as providing guidance, advice and support on meeting data protection obligations and achieving full-cost recovery.

The consultation said it welcomed responses from interested individuals and organisations from across the UK, particularly data controllers and representatives from the community and social enterprise sectors

The consultation closes at 11.55pm on 26^th September 2024.

In his introduction to the consultation, Kyle said: “I have a statutory duty to make sure that the ICO has the resources it needs to deliver its regulatory functions – and beyond this, a responsibility to ensure that the ICO remains a forward-looking, world class regulator.

“That is why I am consulting on an uplift to the data protection fees that fund the ICO’s data protection activities. These fees have not risen in line with inflation since their introduction in 2018, meaning the ICO today is delivering the same level of statutory responsibilities with significantly less real-term income.

“They also do not take into account the ongoing investment the ICO has needed to make in its capabilities over the last 6 years – and which it will need to continue making – to ensure it can regulate effectively in the rapidly evolving era of digital technologies and AI. An uplift in fees is overdue.”