Information sharing

Information sharing is key to the government's goal of delivering more efficient public services that are coordinated around needs of the individual. It is essential to allow for early intervention and preventative work, for safeguarding and promoting welfare and for wider public protection. Information sharing is a vital element in improving outcomes for all.

It is important that people remain confident that their personal information is kept safe and secure and that practitioners keep to the privacy rights of the individual, whilst sharing information to deliver better services.

Information sharing advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers (PDF, 1.2 MB)

Kent and Medway Information Sharing Agreement

The Kent and Medway Information Sharing Agreement is overseen and reviewed annually by the Kent and Medway Information Partnership (K-MIP), and has been rewritten to be GDPR (now UK GDPR) compliant.

All agencies who become signatories to the agreement are welcome to be represented at K-MIP and to contribute to its activities. The aim is to have all public services within the county as signatories.

The main purpose of the agreement is to provide services in Kent and Medway with a best practice framework for the governance and exchange of personal and sensitive data.

The benefits are seen as being:

• minimising the amount of time agencies need to spend themselves on the preparation of agreements
• ensuring that the agreement used is current and takes into account advice and guidance published by the Information Commissioner's Office
• all signatories can contribute to the annual review of the Agreement so ensuring the manner in which it is framed meets their needs
• the Agreement is supported by a simple "Record of Sharing"
• access to and use of a Portal which is designed to enable the sharing of expertise between signatories.

For details of current signatories to the KMISA, please see Dartford Borough Council website

If you are interested in signing the agreement, please see Dartford Borough Council website for details, or contact KCC at CYPEIG@Kent.gov.uk to read the full agreement.

To become a signatory, please sign the KMISA signatory form (DOCX, 24.5 KB) and email to CYPEIG@Kent.gov.uk. You will be given record of sharing template. You will retain records of sharing and review as required. Please note: KCC will only require a copy of a record of sharing referring to sharing with KCC.

Information sharing guides

• Information sharing guide for practitioners (PDF, 1.2 MB)
• Pocket information sharing guide (PDF, 219.6 KB)
• Data Sharing Code Of Practice from the ICO

Sharing school health data

The letters from Public Health England (one for Primary schools (PDF, 71.2 KB) and one for Secondary schools (PDF, 51.2 KB)) provide advice on the lawful basis under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for children’s personal information to be used for height and weight measurements, dental surveys, vaccinations, and vision and hearing screening in primary schools.

The key message is that no change is needed to the current ways in which children’s personal information is used and shared for the school health data collections to be lawful under the GDPR.