March 2026 ~ IPFGB is “Code Ready” for UK GDPR Code of Conduct
IPFGB takes Data Protection seriously. As such, since 2018, each case instructed to IPFGB is subjected to a Data Protection Impact Assessment; not least a KYC test. In most instances, personal data will naturally be controlled and/or processed without the express consent of the data subject, and it is not unknown for an instruction to fail these tests, and the assignment declined.
In conjunction with the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Association of British Investigators’ UK GDPR Code of Conduct for Investigative and Litigation Support was launched in November 2024, since when we have awaited the ICO’s authorisation of the monitoring body. We understand that that SSAIB has now been appointed, and as IPFGB successfully completed a guineapig examination by SSAIB as long ago as January 2025, we anticipate we will be one of the first companies to be officially accredited.
That process demands a regular update of training and, to that end, IPFGB has this month attended and successfully passed the assessment for the ABI UK GDPR good practice workshop and assessment for investigative and litigation support service providers hosted by the ABI. That training covered the topics:
Roles and responsibilities,
Lawful bases,
The data protection principles,
Data protection impact assessment,
Legitimate interests,
Processing for domestic & household purposes,
Invisible processing,
Consent to share in locate cases.
Unsurprisingly, news of the imminent introduction of the code has been welcomed by The Law Society, it is hoped that the legal profession in England and Wales as a whole will warmly embrace this Code of Conduct, demonstrating a preference for investigators who have proved that they understand and adhere to DP legislation; thereby assuring their clients that every step has been taken to ensure contractors operating on their behalf are doing so within legal margins.