The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) has relocated to its new premises in St Martin’s House, Le Bordage, St Peter Port, which will help the ODPC fulfil its role of supportive public engagement.
The move is necessary to accommodate the ODPC’s team which has grown from three people in full- time positions, to seven in a mix of full-time and part-time contract roles. The previous premises were a trio of small interconnected offices on the ground floor of the Guernsey Information Centre.
Emma Martins, Data Protection Commissioner confirmed that the new premises will facilitate the ODPC’s public engagement role.
“My team and I are thrilled to be moving into St Martin’s House. We are mindful of our status as a publicly-funded body and as such have searched for a long time to make sure that we secured the right premises that represent the best value for money.”
“There is some internal building work that will go on around us over the summer, and once that’s completed we will be using the new space to host regular public events to help raise awareness of good data protection practices for the benefit of everyone. We will also be creating a confidential meeting area, which is essential for when we are consulting with members of the public who may have to share deeply personal information with us.’
The alterations will include creating a flexible area to accommodate both the Data ProtectionAuthority’s regular board meetings, as well as public events. This will provide space to proactively engage with more local organisations and individuals with the aim of encouraging innovation and excellence in data protection via regular one-to-one ‘surgeries’, industry forums, themed workshops, along with talks from invited speakers.
An open evening for invited guests is planned for September 2018 and the first in a series of public events will be announced this autumn once the works are finished.
