HL Deb 18 March 2003 vol 646 c17WA
The Earl of Northesk

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, in respect of the draft code of practice for voluntary retention of communications data and the consultation paper on it, their policy objectives might be more effectively achieved by a targeted preservation scheme similar to that in the United States. [HL2126]

Lord Falconer of Thoroton

As discussed in Section 12 of the consultation paper on the voluntary code, data preservation is a very useful tool but not a substitute for data retention.