§ Mr. Moonmanasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultative processes will operate and time-scales will be provided on the publication of the Data Protection Committee report; and when he expects publication to occur.
§ Mr. Merlyn Rees:The report of the Data Protection Committee is being published today. I am indebted to the committee for a thorough and wide-ranging analysis of the problems in this field.
The committee, under the chairmanship of Sir Norman Lindop, was set up by the Government in 1976 to advise the Government on the content of legislation to control, in the interests of privacy, computers that handle personal information. The general framework of the Government's policy within which the committee was invited to work was described in the White Paper on computers and privacy (Cmnd. 6353) published in December 1975.
557WThe Government's White Paper recognised the concern on the part of the public that the speed and relatively low cost of storing, retrieving and collating personal information on computers could represent a threat to individual privacy. Organisations in both the public and private sectors go to considerable lengths to maintain the confidentiality of personal information. The public need to be assured that information which they provide to the Government, to local authorities and other public bodies and to commercial undertakings is subject to safeguards which will ensure that it is used responsibly. If these fears are not met there could be resistance to the use of computers, which could have adverse effects on the nation's economic efficiency and thus on jobs and prosperity. On the other hand, as the committee's report recognises, it is important to avoid the imposition of unnecessary controls which would impede the efficiency of public and private business and add significantly to costs and prices.
Before reaching any conclusions on the committee's recommendations the Government will wish to have the views of computer users and others who would be affected by the recommendations, and will also take full account of views expressed in Parliament and elsewhere. Representative organisations who are known to have a special interest in the subject will be approached direct by the Government Departments concerned; I should also welcome the widest possible expression of views in other quarters. I do not think it appropriate to impose a rigid time limit upon consultation and discussion on so complex and important a subject, but we shall encourage all concerned to respond without avoidable delay.