This sounds like an absolutely horrible idea:

Ministers are preparing to overturn a fundamental principle of data protection in government, the Guardian has learned. They will announce next month that public bodies can assume they are free to share citizens’ personal data with other arms of the state, so long as it is in the public interest.

Oh, imagine someone appointed to decide that “public interest” means…sharing data. Wouldn’t that be a convenient position to defend?

The new policy appears to contravene a key principle of the data protection act, which is that “personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes, and shall not be further processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose or those purposes”. Ministers are likely to argue that efficient public administration is not incompatible with other purposes.

“Efficient” administration is certainly one value, but never the supreme and only value. In fact, I believe most if not all people would happily give up effciency to preserve their liberties if the real consequences were portrayed openly and clearly. I can’t even count the number of companies that have asked me to help them ensure their data is safe from sharing. If a plan like this is passed the demand for information security will absolutely explode as every citizen will need a professional/specialist even just to help them protect themselves from simple mistakes.