Lord Clement-Jones (LD)

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his introduction. Of course, we recognise that this instrument is a technical necessity. It ensures that the statute book remains coherent as we transition from the Office of the Information Commissioner to the new Information Commission. Obviously, not to agree these regulations would be to invite legal ambiguity across hundreds of pieces of legislation, from the Public Records Act to the UK GDPR. However, accepting the technicality of this SI does not mean that we on these Benches have moved past our deep-seated reservations regarding the original Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. The Liberal Democrats argued throughout the passage of the original Bill that the governance upgrade that the Government describe is in reality a threat to regulatory independence. By replacing a singular independent Information Commissioner with a commission, the members of which are largely appointed by the Secretary of State, the Government have increased the risk of political interference. We remain concerned that the Act has weakened the rights of citizens, as we debated during the passage of the Act, and specifically we regret the reduced independence, with the new structure allowing the Secretary of State to have a greater hand in the commission’s strategic priorities.