The concept of ‘personal data’ is key to the interpretation of the Data Protection Act 1998. The ICO therefore issued in 2007, technical guidance entitled
'Determining what is personal data' o assist in identifying personal data in cases where this is not obvious.
To further assist in understanding what is meant by ‘personal data’ the ICO has now launched further technical guidance entitled '
Determining what information is data for the purposes of the DPA'. The two sets of guidance materials are intended to compliment one another to assist in identifying personal data. In most cases it should not be necessary to refer to these materials as it will be obvious that the information held is ‘data’ and also ‘personal data’. The guidance is intended to assist in indentifying personal data in difficult cases.