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Education and Skills Bill

moved Amendment No. 14: 14: Clause 14, page 8, line 6, at end insert ““provided that the relevant pupil or student has given written consent for the information to be provided”” The noble Baroness said: My Lords, in Committee we tabled a rather larger group of amendments relating to data protection. I have narrowed down the numbers somewhat so that these amendments relate to informing persons if their data are being abused and obtaining their consent. I have brought these amendments back because they are extremely important. I heard what the then Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, had to say in response, and I have read his words carefully in the official record. Despite the Government’s replies then, I think it is necessary to get absolute assurances on this point. The collection, use and sharing of people’s personal details, which can include some highly confidential information, must be treated with utmost care and respect. The Minister’s predecessor said himself in Committee that he understood that Parliament had an absolute duty to see that personal data are handled appropriately and not in an unauthorised way, and that security is paramount. He went on to point out that the provisions in the Bill are very similar to those which Parliament has agreed in respect of the Learning and Skills Act 2000. A good deal has happened since 2000 and while it may be embarrassing for the Government to be reminded, they none the less have a truly dismal record in keeping records safe. I do not think that it is unreasonable to look carefully at what reassurances and safety mechanisms we can place in the Bill. Amendment No. 14 concerns written consent for the provision of information. This creates an opt-in approach rather than an opt-out. It may be true that this is more cumbersome for the authorities than making the hapless individual do the running, but perhaps it could be said that this will make authorities think more carefully about what information they are prepared to go to the trouble of collecting. Amendment No. 15 would require educational establishments to write to their students to inform them of their rights under subsection (4). In Committee the Minister responded by saying that learning providers have had arrangements in place since 2000 to do this with regard to information disclosures to Connexions. If that system is working well, I cannot see why the Bill should not adopt this good practice. Amendment No. 19 would simply specify that a local authority must notify the young person concerned within seven days of the information being supplied that it has done so. That may seem a very tight time frame, but once again it should spur efficiency and care on the part of the local authority, which would have to make a deliberate and considered choice about what information it was going to supply rather than simply offloading personal data indiscriminately. Amendments Nos. 16, 17 and 66 reflect what I see as the desirability of opting in. They simply hand a measure of empowerment to the people whose details are being collated. They are, after all, their data and they should be allowed to say whether they may be used. I hope that noble Lords will recognise that I am not trying to be difficult on this matter. I strongly believe that we in this place owe it to the people whose lives will be affected by the measures in the Bill to show that we have considered the consequences. It is unfortunate that in the past year or so we have seen the worry, confusion and concern that are caused when vast amounts of personal data get lost in the post, are stolen from an office or are left uncoded on a laptop on a train. I hope that the Government have had the time and inclination to give more thought to this matter. I beg to move.