FiL wants all our data

[HighlandCowSaysBooNotMoo]

My father in law works in a government role.
Today he put a message in the family WhatsApp group asking if we could send him our addresses, d.o.bs, mothers maiden names, our place of birth, our address history, previous maiden names etc.
Apparently he needs this info from his 4 adult children, their spouses (me included) , his own siblings and his siblings spouses, grandchildren, his in laws etc. Basically he is covering every member of the family and spouses etc over the age of 18.
He has put something light hearted about it being needed for an enhanced security check that he's been told he needs for his job.
He is not changing jobs or position in the company. He has been in this job for since my husband was a wee kid!!
A couple of people have responded straight away with their data.
DH says IABU not to share mine with his dad
What do I do?

Not normally for extended family.

Obv I haven't used mothers maiden name but sure many do

I just find it weird that. Job needs this

Surely if government are high uo they can source this theirselves

Family tree

My husband has to to this for his security clearance. I think it's pretty normal for certain roles in that field.
I also had to be interviewed when we were first married and I found it more nerve-wracking than a job interview!

No way on earth I would send him this, not a chance. I do those checks, and it wouldn’t be refused on the basis of some refusals to give info, total nonsense.

That is pretty much what I came back to say having thought about the OP a bit more!!

DH has issues with his DF - married a few times and DH has little to no contact. He states that and the DV goes through, we always assume someone checked a bit more the first time and, until FIL got married yet again, there was nothing else to check!

Its for enhanced security. There are different levels but for DV you would need all this info. Its normal for the employer to ask their family members for the info, not for the government to contact you directly.

This is perfectly normally for government/Police. Etc jobs. I had to do it for enhanced security vetting for my job.

GCHQ request this and it’s the norm

That's a very useful amount of info for a scammer. How sure are you it's secure?

Sounds like enhanced DBS , they do re do them every so often, or as someone said he may be doing something requiring additional security.

It sounds very much like he’s applying for security clearance.

This is very common information for SC or DV level clearance.

I wouldn’t be worried. Essentially, he already knows most of it (you would hope..)

I had to supply my details when my niece applied for a job at a sensitive government site. No problem to me, nothing to hide.

We have, as a family, had to provide my daughter’s employer all our details for security checks. Terrorism is a real risk.

Does he work in a round building near Cheltenham? Sounds very normal for DV clearance

It’s actually crazy how many people say this is creepy 😂 how do you think police etc are vetted. They need to check those and people close to you. I work in a government role and am vetted every 5 years. I need to provide details of children, parents, siblings, partners and in laws exactly as your FIL needs to. They do not contact you for this info it is a very long and painful form to complete. He will have to give the details whether you consent or not as without this if his vetting is not cleared he will not be able to continue with his role. He can give all info he knows and then just write that you refuse to give further info. The vetting unit will have systems to search you regardless but by refusing it just makes there job harder and will take much longer for your FIL’s vetting to be cleared

Have you checked a) it's definitely from him and b) to clarify why he needs it? Definitely sounds like the sort of info needed for a government security check.

I had to do this when my stepson started working for for the Civil Service in Whitehall. He also had to get details from his ex wife and all her family, even though most of them had never even set foot in the UK (they were only married for a couple years and the ex was from another country on the other side of the world). I wasn't overjoyed to be added to another government database, my DH even less so, but it was part of the vetting process for his job. We gave him the info to presumably put in a form, no contact from the employer.

It's definitely standard practice for enhanced security checks. Perhaps elements of his role have changed or there has been an internal review of security..I can understand your position - perhaps have a conversation with him but sounds as though he is limited in how much he can say.

familysearch.org gives the same information and is free, it's the enormous genealogy website of the Mormon church.

Said Government department should have a data privacy notice telling you the purpose your data is being collected how it’s processed and how long for. Ask for that.

It's to check the potential for blackmail. Friends of mine have some high level of clearance and had to list all the foreign people they knew and they all were checked too. They also interviewed some long-standing friends and asked all kinds of nosy questions about previous relationships

Hmm no. Only his data belongs to him. Sharing the rest is a data protection issue

Yep was asked about all of this for security clearance and also had to include a lot more intrusive information about my parents, partner and his parents (including CCGs, court cases, convictions etc). Also need to renew every 10 years (or more frequently if clearance level needs to change).
He could probably figure out all this info for himself anyway but we were always told inaccurate info would delay clearance being granted which in turn may impact his ability to work. I've known cases where clearance hasn't been renewed before expiring and people have had to temporarily move roles or in some cases not been able to work at all...

I know it sounds quite intrusive but I don't know what else he'd be hoping to achieve with this information. If the others have handed it over, that'd suggest he's had to ask for this before so they know the drill.

Also those saying that the government would find this info themselves if it was needed? Lol. No. They have to process thousands of clearance applications every month and even with all the information they're requesting at hand, it can take in excess of 6 months to process an application. If you add on needing to hunt down the information in the first place, you'd need a ton more staff and Government don't have the funds for that...

Not if everyone concerned agrees to share. Which they presumably will given that this is fairly standard practice and it would be a dick move to make him lose his job.