The result of the recent ruling by the ICO has brought about the abolition of the personal search fee of £22 and the opening up of all of the information required to answer the questions on the Con29.

The abolition of the charging does not come into effect until 17^th August, however a number of the local authorities have already stoppped charging and these are listed below:

• Newcastle

• South Tyneside

• North Tyneside

• Sunderland

• Darlington

• Northumberland County Council

We will advise as and when the other authorities follow suit if it is before 17^th August. The abolition of the fee will, of course, be reflected in our invoices to you.

All of the authorities are meeting to discuss how they will provide us with access to the relevant data, so interesting times ahead.