Clause 47
Road Safety Bill [Lords]
5:00 pm
Owen Paterson (Shadow Minister, Transport; North Shropshire, Conservative)
Our amendments are simple. They would limit the countries to which information can be divulged under the clause to those that have signed up to the European vehicle and driving licence information system treaty. As was said in another place, the clause appears to be drafted extremely widely. If its purpose is to allow ratification of the EUCARIS treaty, we have no objection. It is sensible that there is an exchange of information. We debated foreign vehicles and drivers and think that the treaty is a sensible measure. However, it is interesting that significant countries such as France, Italy and Spain have not signed the treaty yet. There are serious questions why the clause is so broad. Subsection (2)(b) states that information will be available to
“the authorities of any country or territory outside the United Kingdom with responsibility under the law of that country”.
That goes a lot wider than a requirement to sign up to the treaty, of which we approve.
We must also consider the circumstances that would justify the disclosure of information. To which departments in a foreign authority would information be disclosed? Are there reciprocal relationships with the country involved? What are the legal systems of the countries to which we might be giving information? What is the exact purpose for which information is being disclosed in each case? British drivers would like clear answers to those questions and an assurance of the intent of the foreign authorities that will receive information.
We frequently find our constituents tangled up in the Data Protection Act 1998. Where will they stand if information is given to a number of foreign authorities to which we are not bound by treaty? How can we ensure that the information is not then passed on from that country to a third country? We approve of the sensible exchange of information between European countries that have signed the treaty and will use it with that intention, but the clause as it stands is drafted too widely. We have serious concerns about why the information is being sought by some countries and what will happen to it.