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Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

My Lords, I am glad that the Government have come forward with some sort of answer to the House’s deeply held concern that data controllers are not sufficiently regulated by the Information Commissioner’s power to enforce penalties. I would not resist the Government’s attempt to move away from criminal penalties, which we on these Benches regard very much as a last resort. However, we will keep an eye on how the regime works. I, too, have heard from the Information Commissioner and am glad that he sees that it is sufficient. When will the Secretary of State introduce regulations for deciding the amount of a fine? Given the amount of data lost during the past year, both from government departments and the private sector, I hope that the Secretary of State will choose to bring in those regulations speedily, because this is a matter of deep concern to the public. The amendment is supposed to strengthen the Information Commissioner’s arm and ensure that data controllers comply with all the provisions of the Data Protection Act. However, unless the regulations are introduced, it will not have the desired effect. I hope that the Minister will reassure me on that point.