Industry baulks at 'dead data' costs
Release of the official register of deaths data for fraud prevention has been welcomed by the data industry. But the high cost of the data set is being questioned at the same time as users are examining the legal possibility of using it for direct mail suppression.
The Supply of Information (Register of Deaths) Regulations 2007 came into force on 1 January 2008, with similar separate regulations applying to Scotland and Northern Ireland. Registrars General can disclose information on registered deaths for the purposes of prevention, detection or prosecution of offences.
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Angela Traynor, legal coordinator at the DMA, said: "This major breakthrough in accessing death registration data will be very important to our members, particularly those in the financial sector."
But some industry figures have baulked at the £62,000 annual charge for the death data licence. "With the high price tag associated with the Government's data, only a very few of the biggest institutions will be able to make full use of the data," said Emma Reid of deceaseds data consortium Stop Dead.
The regulations specify that the official register can be used for list cleaning where this is for the purposes of fraud prevention. Legal advice is being sought to establish whether list usage for marketing is also covered.
Rosemary Smith, managing director of RSA Direct, director of the Stop Dead Consortium and DMA Chairman said: "We are pleased that data is being released, but have many issues that need clarification in the coming months."