Proceeding contribution from Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) in the House of Commons on Friday, 20 April 2007. It occurred during Debate on bill on Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill.
Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill
That is absolutely right. Members of Parliament also have extra protection, in the sense that we have greater access to personal data than, say, a local councillor would have. If we write to an NHS trust on behalf of a constituent, for example, the trust will take us at our word that we are acting on behalf of the constituent. If a local councillor were to write to the trust, they would need an authorisation form from their constituent to say that the trust was authorised to respond to the councillor. So the law already allows us to go further in our representation of others. It could be argued that that would make problems more likely to arise, but no such problems are arising, even though the arrangements are more flexible for Members of Parliament than they are for, say, local councillors.
Secondary information
- Type
- Proceeding contribution
- Reference
- 459 c613
- Session
- 2006-07
- Chamber / Committee
- House of Commons chamber
- Subjects
- Data protection Accountability Allowances Correspondence Freedom of information House of Lords House of Commons Exemptions Members Public opinion Travel Standards Parliamentary questions Members' constituency work
- Legislation
- Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2006-07
- Link
- View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk
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- 2023-12-15 11:27:50 +0000
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