Clause 57
Education and Skills Bill
11:45 am
Nick Gibb (Shadow Minister, Children, Schools and Families; Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 42, in clause 57, page 30, line 37, at end insert
‘to the extent that fulfilling such duty conforms to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.’.
The clause is another data-sharing provision, which we touched on when we debated amendment No. 97. Clause 57 is drafted similarly to clause 14, but it relates to data being shared with the local authority to enable it to supply support services to young people, rather than to promote participation. However, the principle of the information that an educational institution holds being shared with the local authority is the same.
The amendment would ensure that the data-sharing powers are consistent with the European convention on human rights by incorporating article 8 into the clause and requiring it to be consistent with that article, which deals with the right to respect for private and family life. It states:
“Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence...There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.”
The human rights aspect of the Bill, particularly in relation to information-sharing provisions, has been raised by the hon. Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore), who chairs the Joint Committee on Human Rights. The right protected by article 8 is a qualified right that can be interfered with, as the Government have done, if that interference has its basis in law, is done to secure a permissible aim set out in the relevant article and is necessary in a democratic society. Interference must fulfil a pressing social need, pursue a legitimate aim and be proportionate to the aims pursued. That is a key aspect. The hon. Gentleman’s concerns about the human rights implications of the Bill were raised in a letter of 20 December, in which he states:
“The Bill contains information supply and sharing provisions in Parts 1 to 4 which raise potential human rights issues, notably the right to respect for private and family life. The Government has referred to some, but not all, of the information supply and sharing provisions in the human rights section of the Explanatory Notes. In particular, whilst the Explanatory Notes state generally that the provisions in Chapter 2 of Part 1 pursue the aim of economic well-being, the Government does not explain specifically, in relation to each of the disclosure provisions, how each provision is both necessary and proportionate to the achievement of that aim.”
The hon. Gentleman specifically asks:
“In relation to each and every information supply and sharing provision...what legitimate aim is sought to be protected...are the provisions necessary to achieve the aim and...are the measures proportionate to that aim?”
He goes on to ask:
“In relation to each and every information supply and sharing provision, what specific safeguards will be in place to ensure their compatibility with article 8 ECHR”?
Thus, the question is: what is the legitimate aim?
The Minister responded in another letter:
“Economic well-being of the country: the information collected will be used for improving the participation and general attainment in education and training of young people by providing appropriate support to individual young people...thereby ensuring a more skilled workforce.”
That, then, is the Minister’s explanation of the legitimate aim of the powers, which, on the face of it, could infringe the human rights convention. On the issue of whether the measure is proportionate, his response is:
“Only by the provision of this information—name, address, date of birth and other information relevant to Connexions services—by schools and colleges can the full group of young people be identified in respect of whom LAs have the duty in clause 54 to make Connexions support services available. This enables Connexions services to provide appropriate IAG”—
information, advice and guidance—
“at an early stage, thereby helping young people to make informed choices that most benefit them.”
The important passage there is the one about the information being relevant to Connexions services. Clause 57(2) states that the information requested must be relevant to the provision of services. However, the information supplied can be any
“information in the institution’s possession about the pupil or student.”
There is nothing in the definition of relevant information that requires it to be confined to the purpose of providing Connexions services. Even if the provisions did confine the information to that purpose, the power would still be very wide, involving supplying details of the academic and personal problems of a student at school or college. I believe that that would be disproportionate to the aim.