§ Mr. RathboneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact on the application of the Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986 of the requirement of the Data Protection Act or other legislation controlling information storage and retrieval.
§ Mr. MellorThe Drug Trafficking Offences Act enables banks and other financial institutions to disclose suspicions to the enforcement authorities without infringing the law on confidentiality and personal privacy. The evidence is that it has achieved this objective. The Government have stated, however, that they are keeping the working of the Drug Trafficking Offences Act under continuing review, and that they are prepared to take whatever action is necessary if problems are found to arise.
§ Mr. RathboneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact on the applications of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 of the requirements of the Data Protection Act or other legislation controlling information storage and retrieval.
§ Mr. John PattenI have no reason to believe that the application of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 has been impeded by the confidentiality or privacy requirements of other legislation. We will, however, keep the matter under review.
§ Mr. RathboneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact on the application of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 of the requirements of the Data Protection Act or other legislation controlling information storage and retrieval.
§ Mr. MellorI have no evidence that the application of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 has been impeded by the confidentiality or privacy requirements of other legislation, but I will keep this matter under review.