Clause 7 - Publication of information
Health Protection Agency Bill [Lords]
9:30 am
Dr Andrew Murrison (Shadow Minister, Public Services, Health & Education; Westbury, Conservative)
Amendment No. 14 states that the agency must not publish any matter in contravention of the express wishes of the source of that information. It has been drafted to give assurance to those bodies with which the Health Protection Agency may co-operate in the acquisition of information. We have previously discussed those at some length. It would give them confidence that information would not be divulged. Clearly, there are overriding considerations to do with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the public interest. However, it is very important when information is shared between bodies and individuals that it is done in a spirit of security, particularly in some of the areas that the agency will be dealing with, which are quite sensitive.
Amendment No. 13 deals with ethics. It is now accepted as ethically unacceptable to conduct biomedical research, particularly that involving consent and human subjects, if it is not to be put into the public domain, whether the results are positive or negative. It is important, and certainly in line with the spirit of the age, that that should be reflected in the Bill, especially as the agency will be intimately involved with research on human subjects. I would be grateful if the Minister considered both amendments.