Member

Amendment 188 is designed to enable targeted, lawful and proportionate access to information, so that decisions about an individual’s status can be made based on facts, not guesswork. That is in the interests of everyone: the public, the authorities and, indeed, the individuals concerned. Indeed, far from being a threat to their rights, this amendment would strengthen our ability to protect the most vulnerable. It is only by accessing the necessary data, whether digital records, communications or location information, that we can determine whether someone is, for instance, a victim of modern slavery or trafficking, as we have heard from my noble friend Lady May of Maidenhead. If we shackle our agencies with red tape, we risk missing that, and in so doing we deny people the very protections the system was designed to provide.