HL Deb 16 July 1992 vol 539 cc378-80

3.8 p.m.

Baroness Trumpington rose to move, That the draft regulations laid before the House on 30th June be approved [5th Report from the Joint Committee].

The noble Baroness said: My Lords, on behalf of my noble friend Lord Strathmore and Kinghorne, I beg to move the above regulations.

I shall try not to detain your Lordships long. However, I cannot resist saying what an unexpected pleasure it is for me to face the noble Lord, Lord Carmichael, for the first time. The Access to Personal Files Act 1987 set the framework for giving members of the public a right to see records held about them by public authorities. The regulations before the House today set out how that right should apply in practice to records held by public sector landlords in Scotland. Briefly, the regulations give public sector tenants the right to see personal information held about them by their landlord on non-computerised files as long as they apply in writing and pay any fee charged by the landlord of up to £10. A similar right already exists when the information is held on computer.

There are some necessary exemptions from the right. The first applies when the information held could identify a third person who is not a member of the tenant's family, or a housing official, or a medical practitioner who has been associated with the tenant's case. In that case, the third person's permission must be sought before access to the information is given. The second exemption is when releasing information could cause serious harm to the physical or mental health of the tenant or some other person. If that seems to be the case, the authority must seek the views of an appropriate medical practitioner before releasing the information. In cases where there is no appropriate medical practitioner, the local authority can itself decide whether serious harm will arise, but that power should be used sparingly. The third exemption is where disclosure would prejudice the prevention or detection of crime or the arrest or prosecution of offenders; and the fourth is where the information is subject to legal professional privilege.

An important provision in the regulations is the power of a tenant to have corrected or erased any information which is inaccurate. Even if the landlord does not agree that the information is inaccurate, a note must be attached to the file giving the tenant's point of view.

Finally, the regulations also give the tenant the power to seek a review of the decision of the public sector landlord not to give access to information or not to correct information which the tenant believes to be inaccurate. Any such review must be carried out either by members of the authority who took no part in making the original decision or by a meeting of the full authority. I hope that that brief summary of the regulations has been of assistance. We shall be issuing full guidance to local authorities about the operation of the powers under the new regulations and plan to publish an advice booklet for the use of the public.

Moved, That the draft regulations laid before the House on 30th June be approved [5th Report from the Joint Committee].—(Baroness Trumpington.)

Lord Carmichael of Kelvingrove

My Lords, the House is grateful to the noble Baroness for giving a full explanation of the regulations. I think the pleasure is mine that she has entered into the Scottish field. It might give her an appetite to develop her interest in things Scottish. As with the previous regulations, we are in general agreement and welcome these regulations. The noble Baroness spelt out all the exemptions in some detail. A point was raised in another place upon which we should like an assurance. It related to the serious case of a divorced person trying to use the records to get in touch with an estranged wife or husband. That could be difficult, especially if there was a history of domestic violence.

The Minister in the other place said that that point would be considered. We should like to know whether the Government have had any new thoughts about it. We hope that before the regulations go any further that point will be cleared up. Otherwise, we are happy to accept them.

Baroness Trumpington

My Lords, I should like the noble Lord to know that I have always been a keen admirer of Scotch whether it is "the" or just Scotch. Was the noble Lord referring to serious harm?

Lord Carmichael of Kelvingrove

My Lords, yes.

Baroness Trumpington

My Lords, the Government have not defined serious harm. The fundamental principle underlying the right of access is that tenants should be able to know what is recorded about them. The restriction is therefore confined to serious harm. I consider that its use should be exceptional rather than the norm. The guidance will provide more information about that issue. That exemption may be relevant, for example, where there is a risk of assault on the applicant's partner or where the giving of details about a former partner's address might put that person at risk. Apart from that, I am grateful to the noble Lord for his welcome for the regulations. I commend them to your Lordships' House.

On Question, Motion agreed to.