The ICO exists to empower you through information.

We enable well informed, transparent and compliant decision making that ensures resources are prioritised effectively through proportionate governance, planning risk management and compliance infrastructure. The directorate provides oversight and assurance- ensuring policies are understood, responds efficiently to requests for information made of the ICO, and supports the ICO's role as a regulator and employer.

We facilitate and manage business planning and performance management activities to ensure the business delivers the best outcomes and services in relation to our priorities and statutory responsibilities within the available resources, and provide a system for early warning where this is not the case.

We provide corporate governance services to assist effective and transparent decision making, ensuring boards have the right information at the right time and that decisions are recorded and acted upon. We implement and continuously improve the ICO’s risk management and business continuity frameworks (policies, procedures, and practices) identifying areas for improvement and providing specialist support, advice and guidance across the ICO.

Our directorate also works to provide corporate compliance and assurance reviews to ensure that the ICO is complying with relevant legislation and good practice, and that areas of non-compliance are identified and acted upon by senior managers. Our information access team provide an efficient and effective service to respond to requests for information from the public and representatives of organisations under information rights laws. We also work to proactively disclose information where it is appropriate.