New Clause 2 - Retention of data by national air traffic services
Civil Aviation Bill
9:45 am
John Pugh (Shadow Minister, Transport; Southport, Liberal Democrat)
On Second Reading, a number of Opposition Members said that they had regularly sought information but had not been able to find where it resided, even though it was obviously somewhere in the system. Where there are thought to be breaches of, for example, air traffic orders there is an obligation under freedom of information legislation to place the information fairly promptly in the public domain. Therefore, I am sympathetic to the general thrust of subsection (1). However, I wonder whether subsection (2) is not drafted too widely. Some test or hurdle ought to be set, so that people who want information have to state what their purposes are. Otherwise, it will become a plane spotters’ charter—anybody could ask for any information at any time. There are people in the country with a mania for collecting information who will use the process to no good effect. Equally, there are those with legitimate concerns who need information before they take further action.