Repeated breaches of data protection laws by government departments raise
huge question marks over plans for the national identity register required for
ID cards and biometric passport, an influential parliamentary human rights
watchdog has warned.
MPs and peers on the
Lords and
Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights said repeated losses of personal
information by departments had increased their concern, and announced they "
intend to take a close interest in the government's detailed proposals for the
national identity register as and when they emerge."
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In a hard-hitting report the committee insisted the privacy of personal data
is guaranteed under the European
Convention on Human Rights as well as the
Data
Protection Act. The report demands that detailed rules must in future be
written in to all relevant primary legislation to "help ensure that data
protection becomes a primary concern of managers and frontline staff in the
public sector."
The committee questioned the role of justice minister Michael Wills,
responsible for data protection and human rights issues - who said he was not
personally responsible for ensuring other departments obey the law - insisting
he must be more proactive.
The MPs were also surprised to discover government departments have senior
officials designated as "human rights champions" about whom it had never heard.
Committee chairman Andrew Dismore said people had been shocked at the loss of
child benefit data and demanded individual information should be treated "as
sensitively and carefully as hard cash".
"The government must demonstrate that it appreciates the seriousness of what
needs to be done,” he said.
“The fundamental problem is a cultural one. There has been a rapid increase
in the amount of data sharing in the public sector, which can be useful,
important and necessary, but this has not been matched by the even more
necessary strong commitment to safeguard the right to respect for privacy."
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