HC Deb 02 July 1999 vol 334 c310W
Mr. Loughton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the compatibility of police-operated Closed Circuit Television cameras with forthcoming changes in European human rights legislation. [89352]

Mr. George Howarth

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) schemes funded by the Home Office are governed by codes of practice and data protection legislation to ensure that the systems are operated fairly and lawfully, and with due regard to individual rights to privacy, as provided in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Human Rights Act 1998 will give further effect in United Kingdom law to the rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Convention. It will not create any substantive new rights. A properly regulated and controlled CCTV system should therefore fully comply with the requirements of the Act.