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Statistics and Registration Service Bill

At the end of his response the Minister cited the need to comply with the Human Rights Act and the Data Protection Act. Whenever I hear Ministers say that, I can hear the sound of a barrel being scraped. These arguments are wheeled out when all others fail. The point I was trying to make with the amendments is that it should not be for the board to settle on the disclosure. These are not anti-data sharing amendments; they are about who should control the disclosure of personal information. Should it be the person who first had it? In the case of NHS data, the NHS was the right body to decide whether personal information in the NHS should be shared further, not the board, because the information happens to pass through the board. Of course I accept what the Minister said about my amendments not being appropriate for information for which consent has already been given. To that extent, their drafting may well be defective. But the key issue is that most data are disclosed on a non-consent basis; consent to disclosure is very rarely sought, and that is part of the problem, given the extensive data-sharing provisions that the Government are introducing in as many Bills as they can get their hands on, as far as one can tell. As well as lack of consent, there is excessive reliance on things such as sanctions, cited again by the Minister, in Clause 36. However, the clause has many let-outs and has a very wide defence available for disclosure. The Minister will be aware that I am not over the moon about his response, but this evening is not the time to take the issue further. I will think carefully about what he has said and hope that he and his officials will reflect further as well. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Clause 40 agreed to. Clause 41 [Information relating to NHS registration: Wales ]: [Amendments Nos. 196 to 199 not moved.] Clause 41 agreed to. Clauses 42 and 43 agreed to. Schedule 2 agreed to. Clause 44 [Power to authorise disclosure to the Board]: