The Information Commissioner is currently consulting on a draft Data Sharing Code of Practice. Subject to consultation and obtaining the Secretary of State’s approval, this will be a statutory code of practice issued under sections 52A and 52D of the Data Protection Act 1998 which can be used as evidence in any legal proceedings. The draft code is relatively short  (less than 40 pages) and does not include as much practical detail as perhaps might have been expected. It is available on the Information Commissioner’s website (ww.ico.gov.uk)  and the consultation period closes on 5 January 2011.