Part of Civil Contingencies Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 4:15 pm on 29 January 2004.
Mr Richard Allan
Shadow Spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, Cabinet Office, Shadow Spokesperson (Business, Innovation and Skills), Shadow Spokesperson (Trade and Industry)
4:15,
29 January 2004
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing that to my attention, but the enforcement action that he refers to would be taken against those who refuse to comply with a request for data. I am talking about the person with the data using it inappropriately. So far as I can see, we cannot take action against them. Although people are being asked to do certain things, there are no sanctions.
I take an interest in data protection and the security of information. Quite sensibly, we have a growing awareness of the value of data. When talking about sensitive commercial data, especially in connection with the utilities, some kind of sanction is needed to back up the instruction to the local authority to keep that data secure. It is worth pointing out that there is a gap. I hope that the Minister will respond briefly, but I did not want let Clause 6 disappear without having raised the subject.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
