Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill (Eighth sitting)

Carol Monaghan Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 23rd May 2023 Public Bill Committees

[Sir John Whittingdale]

I am happy to provide the further detail that the hon. Lady has requested.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 104 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 105

Oversight of biometrics databases

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

I beg to move amendment 123, in clause 105, page 128, line 22, leave out subsections (2) and (3).

[The Chair]

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Clause stand part.

New clause 17—Transfer of functions to the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office—

“The functions of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner are transferred to the Investigatory Powers Commissioner.”

[Carol Monaghan]

Society is witnessing an unprecedented acceleration in the capability and reach of surveillance technologies. Such an acceleration calls for protections and safeguards. Clause 105, however, does the opposite and seeks to abolish both the office of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner and its functions. The explanatory notes to the Bill state that the functions of the office of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner are duplicated and covered by the Information Commissioner’s Office and its CCTV code of practice. That is not the case: the code is advisory only and is primarily concerned with data processes, not with actual surveillance.

Amendment 123 and new clause 17 would retain the functions of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner but transfer them to the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office, thus preserving those necessary safeguards. The IPCO already scrutinises Government activity and deals with the covert use of surveillance cameras, so dealing with overt cameras as well would be a natural extension of its function.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir John Whittingdale]

I am grateful to the hon. Members for Glasgow North West and for Barnsley East for the points they have made. The hon. Member for Glasgow North West, in moving the amendment, was right to say that the clause as drafted abolishes the role of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner and the surveillance camera code that the commissioner promotes compliance with. The commissioner and the code, however, are concerned only with police and local authority use in England and Wales. Effective, independent oversight of the use of surveillance camera systems is critical to public trust. There is a comprehensive legal framework for the use of such systems, but the oversight framework is complex and confusing.

The ICO regulates the processing of all personal data by all UK organisations under the Data Protection Act; that includes surveillance camera systems operated by the police and local authorities, and the ICO has issued its own video surveillance guidance. That duplication is confusing for both the operators and the public and it has resulted in multiple and sometimes inconsistent guidance documents covering similar areas. The growing reliance on surveillance from different sectors in criminal investigations, such as footage from Ring doorbells, means that it is increasingly important for all users of surveillance systems to have clear and consistent guidance. Consolidating guidance and oversight will make it easier for the police, local authorities and the public to understand. The ICO will continue to provide independent regulation of the use of surveillance camera systems by all organisations. Indeed, the chair of the National Police Data Board, who gave evidence to the Committee, said that that will significantly simplify matters and will not reduce the level of oversight and scrutiny placed upon the police.

Amendment 123, proposed by the hon. Member for Glasgow North West, would retain the role of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner and the surveillance camera code. In our view, that would simply continue the complexity and duplication with the ICO’s responsibilities. Feedback that we received from our consultation showed broad support for simplifying the oversight framework, with consultees agreeing that the roles and responsibilities, in particular in relation to new technologies, were unclear.

The hon. Lady went on to talk about the oversight going beyond that of the Information Commissioner, but I point out that there is a comprehensive legal framework outside the surveillance camera code. That includes not only data protection, but equality and human rights law, to which the code cross-refers. The ICO and the Equality and Human Rights Commission will continue to regulate such activities. There are other oversight bodies for policing, including the Independent Office for Police Conduct and His Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary, as well as the College of Policing, which provide national guidance and training.

The hon. Lady also specifically mentioned the remarks of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner about Chinese surveillance cameras. I will simply point out that the responsibility for oversight, which the ICO will continue to have, is not changed in any way by the Bill. The Information Commissioner’s Office continues to regulate all organisations’ use of surveillance cameras, and it has issued its own video surveillance guidance.

New clause 17 would transfer the functions of the commissioner to the Investigatory Powers Commissioner. As I have already said, we believe that that would simply continue to result in oversight resting in two different places, and that is an unnecessary duplication. The Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office oversees activities that are substantially more intrusive than those relating to overt surveillance cameras. IPCO’s existing work requires it to oversee over 600 public authorities, as well as several powers from different pieces of legislation. That requires a high level of expertise and specialisation to ensure effective oversight.

For those reasons, we believe that the proposals in the clause to bring the oversight functions under the responsibility of the Information Commissioner’s Office will not result in any reduction in oversight, but will result in the removal of duplication and greater clarity. On that basis, I am afraid that I am unable to accept the amendment, and I hope that the hon. Lady will consider withdrawing it.

[Carol Monaghan]

I thank the Minister for responding to my amendments. However, we have a situation where we are going from having a specialist oversight to a somewhat more generalist oversight. That cannot be good when we are talking about this fast-moving technology. I will withdraw my amendment for the moment, but I reserve the right to bring it back at a later stage. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Clause 105 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 106

Oversight of biometrics databases

[Stephanie Peacock]

I beg to move amendment 119, in clause 106, page 130, line 7, leave out

“which allows or confirms the unique identification of that individual”.

This amendment is intended to ensure that the definition of biometric data in the Bill includes cases where that data is used for the purposes of classification (and not just unique identification).