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Data Protection and Freedom of Information

My hon. Friend makes an important point, with which I think the whole House agrees. It illustrates the difficulty inherent in the role of the Information Commissioner—he must balance both sets of interests. Each of us have personal data that we wish to remain personal and to be used only for the purposes for which they were given. At the same time, we do not want to be bothered by having to provide the same data three or four times. In respect of the electoral register, there is provision for the data to be shared, because sharing council tax data and so on will greatly improve the comprehensive nature of the register and its integrity.