Data Protection Officer

1. Do you currently employ a Chief Data Officer in your Local Authority? (if yes go to Q2, if no go to Q5) 

No

2. Is this person male / female?

Not applicable

3. If yes, What is the salary range for this post?

Not applicable

4. Who does the Chief Data Officer report to?

Not applicable

5. If no, Is this something you will be considering in the next 3 years?

Discussions have taken place regarding the merits of having a Chief Data Officer and it has been decided that this would not be appropriate at this time. The Council might revisit this decision over the next 3 years, but there are currently no plans to recruit to such a post.

6. Do you believe the demand for data insight and analysis has increased in your Local Authority since the start of the Covid Pandemic?

Devon County Council does not hold a record of the information you have requested.  However, the Council’s Smarter Devon Programme hold the view that the Council was already starting to see an increase in demand prior to the pandemic.  However, this growth has continued from the start of the pandemic.

7. Do you believe the demand for data insight and analysis within your organisation is currently at its highest level?

Devon County Council does not hold a record of the information you have requested.  However, the Council’s Smarter Devon Programme believe we are unsure of whether we have reached a peak in demand.

8. Please complete the table below relating to the number of enquiries for all Council services received via the following methods for the period 1st April – 31st March.

 * Please note that Devon County Council holds the information you have requested.  However, not all services have a central register of enquiries made to their service.  In many service areas, the information is held in numerous systems and locations, making the collation and retrieval of this information time consuming. Whilst many services receive enquiries directly via the Council’s Customer Service Centre, there are numerous services that deal with enquiries either directly or via third party customer relationship management solutions or via the Councils’ website.

Due to the lack of a central repository for this information, the Council estimates that to locate, extract and collate the statistics you have requested, would take greater than the 18 hours we are obliged to spend answering a freedom of information request.  For this reason, we believe that Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 applies (cost of compliance would exceed the appropriate limit).

In the interest of providing advice and assistance, please note that if you were able to narrow the scope of your request to include calls received to the council’s Customer Service Centre over a 12 month period, we would be happy to revisit your request.

9. What is the job title of the person responsible for data governance in your local authority?

Please can you clarify your definition of the term “Data Governance”.  Until we receive clarification on this term, we will be unable to respond to this question.

10. What is the job title of the person responsible for the data strategy in your local authority?

Smarter Devon Programme Lead.

11. Do you agree/disagree with the statement ‘Data is the local authorities most valuable asset’?

Devon County Council (DCC) does not hold a record of the information you have requested.  However, the Council’s Chief Executive Phil Norrey, has been quoted as saying that data is one of the 3 most valuable assets within DCC, the other 2 being our money and our people.

12. Do you agree/disagree with the statement ‘The speed of being able to carry out data analysis will become more important over the next 18 months?’

Devon County Council does not hold a record of the information you have requested.  However, the Council’s Smarter Devon Programme hold the view that timely data analytics has always been important, and our ability to deliver against this will continue to improve over time due to ongoing investments that the Council is making in this area.