Clause 16

Part of Education and Skills Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 5:00 pm on 19 February 2008.

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Photo of Nick Gibb Nick Gibb Shadow Minister (Education) (Schools) 5:00, 19 February 2008

These amendments cover the issue of written consent and the rights of the young person to examine the information held on them and to correct any inaccuracies. A wide range of information can be shared, including information about a young person’s activities at school held by a local authority, information about a young person’s activities at college held by the learning and skills council, information about a young person’s health held by a primary care trust or strategic health authority, and information about a young person’s involvement with the police, the probation service or the youth offending team. It is astonishing that despite that huge volume of highly sensitive personal information that can be shared, there is no similar protection to that afforded by clause 14(4), limited though that protection is.

Amendments Nos. 25 and 112 propose that information can only be supplied by any of the bodies listed in subsection (2) if a young person has given written consent. It is very important that the information that we give to doctors, police or local authorities is given for one purpose and that, on the assumption that it is confidential, it is only used for the purpose for which it is given. If that principle is not adhered to, we will find that people will not disclose personal details for fear of that information appearing in another arena and damaging them. I am now reluctant to give my mobile phone number to businesses when they ask for it because I know that they may use it to make marketing calls.

The Bill appears to take an insouciant approach to the protection of personal and sensitive information. It ignores one of the principles set out in schedule 2 to the  Data Protection Act, which is that the individual gives consent for their personal data to be processed. There are exceptions to this principle, but for sensitive personal data, such as information on health or criminal convictions, there are more stringent conditions before the principle of consent can be overruled.