§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recommendations of the Younger Committee on Privacy have so far been implemented.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThe Consumer Credit Act 1974 gave individuals a right of access to information held about them by credit reference agencies and made such agencies subject to licensing by the Director General of Fair Trading.
The Government published a White Paper on Computers and Privacy (Cmnd. 6353) in December 1975. As promised in that White Paper, the Government last year established an interim committee—the Data Protection Committee—to prepare the way for a permanent statutory 540W agency which will oversee the use of computers to ensure that they are operated with proper regard for privacy and with the necessary safeguards for the personal information which they contain.
The law on breach of confidence has been referred to the Law Commissions for England and Wales and for Scotland; the Law Commission for England and Wales has since produced a working paper on this subject.
The other recommendations addressed to the Government are under consideration. Action on the recommendations addressed directly to other bodies is primarily a matter for them.