§ 2.42 p.m.
§ Viscount Astorasked Her Majesty's Government:
When they will bring forward a revised Data Protection (Designated Codes of Practice) Order to comply with the Press Complaints Commission's revised code.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Bassam of Brighton)My Lords, we are checking whether there are proposals to amend any of the other codes designated under Section 32 of the Data Protection Act 1998. We shall bring forward a draft order shortly after Easter in the light of those checks and after consulting the Data Protection Commissioner.
Viscount Astor: My Lords, will the Minister apologise to the House for bringing forward an order on 7th February which referred to a code that was out of date? The changes of which he was not aware then, but he is now, were made on 20th January. Does that not show that the consultation promised by the Minister did not take place? Will he assure the House that it will take place in the future? Does he agree that the changes are important because they relate to the identification of juvenile victims and juvenile witnesses to crime?
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonMy Lords, it is most regrettable that we were unable to designate the appropriate code. That must be common ground. I regret that there was a temporary breakdown in communication. Such things happen from time to time. We need to ensure that we get consultation absolutely right so that we designate the appropriate order. The changes reflected in the order are minor in extent but they are important. They reflect important changes in other aspects of public policy, partly in reaction to the Thompson and Venables case.
§ Lord Campbell of AllowayMy Lords, will the code of practice take account of the use of the new form of the electoral register for commercial purposes under Section 9 of the Representation of the People Act without the consent of the person registered, in context with the provisions of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights? Also, will the order be subject to affirmative resolution?
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonMy Lords, the code of practice to which the Question relates does not bear any resemblance to the noble Lord's question. I am more than happy to consider the issue raised in his second point and to communicate with the noble Lord to clarify any issues of concern.
§ Viscount AstorMy Lords, will the Minister confirm that the Data Protection Commissioner has been notified that the code designated was out of date? Will he say what steps are being taken to inform journalists who, looking at the present code published by the Press Complaints Commission, might believe that it was the one with which they should comply? In fact, they should be complying with a code that dates from three years earlier. What steps are the Government taking to help such journalists, who may be put in a position where they might unintentionally break the law due to the error made by the Government?
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonMy Lords, we are in contact with the data protection registrar on those matters. In response to the noble Viscount's second point, we take the view that journalists could rely on the current code in any event, simply and primarily because there is no major difference between the two codes on privacy matters, which are obviously the issues of primacy concern. We are safe on those terms. As I said earlier, we intend to bring forward an amended order shortly after Easter so that we may deal with those matters. I believe that that will put the matter to rest.