Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Personal Data

Wednesday 17 April 2024 · 5 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill aims to enhance standards for personal data protection.
  • The national cyber strategy, security of devices laws, and a fraud prevention strategy are in place to safeguard personal data.
  • New measures in the data Bill focus on identifying and blocking the origin of numbers on a bulk basis.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Bob Blackman Con Harrow East
Context

The MP is concerned about the safety of personal data collected by both public and private entities. There have been reports of abuse and misuse of such data.

Question

What steps her Department is taking to help protect the personal data of individuals?

Answer from Julia Lopez

The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill builds on high standards for personal data protection. The regulator will enforce standards more robustly, strengthening cyber-resilience and data infrastructure as technology evolves.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific measures beyond mentioning the bill

How: Looking At What We Can Do

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q2 Bob Blackman Con Harrow East
Context

The MP has received complaints about personal data abuse by companies, including cases of hacking. A Greater London Authority candidate's phone was hacked recently.

Question

Will my hon. Friend take further action to safeguard people's personal data?

Answer from Julia Lopez

We have the national cyber strategy, security of devices laws, and a fraud prevention strategy. We need to tackle the problem through various means while ensuring vigilance about risks.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not commit to specific new actions beyond existing initiatives

How: A Range Of Ways, We Need To Do A Whole Range

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q3 Jamie Stone Lib Dem Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Standards & Ethics
Context

The MP shared an incident where his late mother's landline continued to receive scam calls after her death.

Question

Does the Minister agree that the elderly must have their personal data protected?

Answer from Julia Lopez

We are taking new measures in the data Bill, including seeing where numbers originate from and blocking them on bulk.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not commit to specific actions beyond mentioning the bill

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q4 Chris Evans Labour (Co-op) Caerphilly
Democracy & Elections Science & Technology
Context

With the general election approaching, concerns have risen about AI being used to manipulate democracy by scraping personal details.

Question

Will the Government commit to ensuring that personal details are protected for candidates, voters, and democracy?

Answer from Julia Lopez

We have a defending democracy taskforce working across every Department to look at threats. We are taking robust measures for protection.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific commitments beyond mentioning existing initiatives

How: A Whole Range Of Measures

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q5 Carol Monaghan SNP
Standards & Ethics
Context

A recent article in The Guardian reported that senior Tory officials planned to sell their members' data through the “True Blue” app.

Question

If the Tory party is happy to sell off its own members' personal data, how can the public possibly have confidence that their data is safe under the Government?

Answer from Julia Lopez

The allegations were written in The Guardian and I have not seen them myself. There is no evidence suggesting we are trying to bring forward laws that would do such a thing.

Not addressed: Did not address the question about public confidence in data protection under Tory governance

How: I Have Not Seen Them Myself, Seen No Evidence

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)