Clause 3 - Information recorded in Register
Identity Cards Bill
3:15 pm
Edward Garnier (Shadow Minister, (Assisted By Shadow Law Officers); Harborough, Conservative)
The Secretary of State has all the cards in his hands. It is for him to make the decision about whether whatever the citizen wants to put on the register is “both practicable and appropriate” to store, but if he is dissatisfied with the decision that it should not go on the register, the citizen can complain to the Information Commissioner. The Information Commissioner, however, cannot change the Secretary of State’s decision; he is not an appeal court. All he can say is, “Sorry, bad luck.” The Secretary of State can carry on refusing. There will be a dissatisfied citizen at the outset, and a dissatisfied citizen at the close of proceedings, so what will be the point? Is this a release valve of some sort?