An end of year message from the DPAS team…

As we come to the end of the year, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the trust you’ve placed in us over the past twelve months. It has been a genuinely rewarding year for our team, and we could not have achieved what we have without the support and collaboration of our clients.

This year has been an exciting one for DPAS in lots of ways. We’ve had the privilege of working with organisations across a wide range of sectors, supporting them in navigating data protection challenges with confidence and clarity, which only strengthens our mission to engage, educate, and empower.

Over the course of the year, the Consultancy Team at DPAS, currently lead by Lauren Durham-Hutchins, has onboarded 14 new Outsourced DPO clients, adding to an extensive portfolio of organisations trusting DPAS to advise and support on integral compliance activities. Whilst delivering those services the team has responded to nearly 2000 support requests, and delivered countless additional one-off projects. Including compliance audits for international organisations, charities, and local government, actively supporting the responsible development and deployment of AI through DPIA’s, and drafting entire policy suites, auditing DSPT/CAF submissions, building entire Records of Processing Activities, and more. 

Alongside that our SAR team, lead by Zack Bellekom, has redacted over 120,000 pages of subject access requests: including complex HR cases, and handwritten social care records. As well as supporting clients with search criteria/requirements, de-duplicating data sets, and drafting data subject response letters. A service that offers our clients a trusted partner in some of the most high pressure circumstances.

We have also delivered over 60 training courses, made up of our publicly available courses which include half day training sessions to extensive accredited courses spanning 5 days learning, not to mention the countless bespoke training sessions that have helped organisations to feel confident in specific activities, legislation, and more.  All made possible by our Training Manager, Megan Black. 

This year also saw two of our team nominated, and shortlisted, for awards at PICASSO, one graduate university, one enroll on a post-graduate information rights law course, and numerous members of the team taking opportunities for professional development across a variety of related training. Not to mention our wonderful CEO, Melanie Garnett, welcomed a baby girl – Arabella, in November.

So, it has been a busy year at DPAS! 

On behalf of the entire team I want to say a sincere thank you for your continued partnership. Your trust, engagement, and commitment make our work meaningful and impactful.

As we look ahead to the new year, we’re excited about what’s to come. We remain committed to providing clear, practical, and trusted data protection consultancy, and we’re very much looking forward to continuing to work alongside you in the year ahead.

Thank you once again for being part of our journey this year. From all of us, we wish you a relaxing end to the year and every success in the year ahead.