This week I started to chair the Data Protection Bill through its committee stages. Thus will be my main focus for the next few weeks.
The bill repeals the existing data protection laws to keep them up to date for the digital age in which ever increasing amounts of personal data are being processed. It sets new standards for protecting personal data and gives people more control over the use of their data. The Bill also helps prepare the UK for a future outside the EU and makes special provision for data access for law enforcement and national security purposes. Finally it modernises the role of the regulator who oversees this hugely significant sector.
As more and more of our daily lives are transacted online, rules relating to data protection are increasingly important. This Bill will give people more power, but no one should pretend that the odds are evenly stacked. Google and its advertisers already seem to know an awful lot about me!
Most organisations will know that the new Bill will require the consent of each individual to remain part of a digital data base once it becomes law and most are already making preparation to ensure that consent is sought. This is a real pain for charities and small voluntary groups, but we do have to give people as much protection as possible.
I thoroughly enjoy chairing these committees. It is takingplace in committee room 12 on the extensive first corridor of the House of Commons, with 19 MPs studying the bill line by line and debating and voting on proposed amendments. The government will have a majority of one, so votes will be close. The Bill has already been through the House of Lords and contains some controversial amendments relating to the newspaper industry which the government will be looking to overturn. Things could get tense!
The chairman of a bill is not allowed to speak or vote on it at any stage. I share the chairing role with a member of the Labour party, taking a three hour session each, which makes the non-voting convention fair.
However it can impact your voting record. I recently helped chair the Brexit Bill through its tortuous Commons passage and could not vote at any stage. As this accounts for half of all votes since the 2017 election, my normally healthy record has taken a dent, but doubtless I will recover over this 5-yearParliament.