Identity Cards Bill

My Amendment No. 270 has apparently been left out of the groupings list, and it seems appropriate to include it alongside the amendment just moved by the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay. Amendment No. 270 seeks to add to the definition of ““biometric information”” in Clause 43 the words,"““but shall not include data analysing the composition of any external characteristic””." Members of the Committee will know that in Clause 43 biometric information is defined as information that,"““in relation to an individual, means data about his external characteristics””," and so on. Like the noble Baroness, I am simply probing in this amendment, because it is common ground that there is a great deal of anxiety around the Chamber about the prospects of placing highly sensitive data about all of us within the aegis of ““biometric information””. I am told, for example, that moisture left from a fingerprint can be sufficient to garner DNA information about the individual concerned. I suppose that another external characteristic would be hair and, again, I believe that it is possible to obtain a great deal of highly germane and sensitive information about an individual from a single hair. So my amendment is advanced in order to be sure that there is no intention to include any of that within the ambit of this piece of legislation. I add one last point. This is one of the most obscure pieces of draftsmanship that I have had the misfortune to come across. But it is particularly unfortunate that, as the noble Baroness made clear on the previous occasion, Clause 1(5) is the key to this entire part of the legislation—that is, if anything is not within Clause 1(5), it cannot be within Schedule 1. However, I think I am right in saying that you will not see in subsections (5), (6) or (7) of Clause 1 any reference to biometric data or biometric information. That crops up only in later clauses and, indeed, in Schedule 1. As I said, I hope that the noble Baroness will be able to render reassurance in that regard.