Police and Justice Bill

moved Amendment No. 91B: Page 6, line 9, leave out paragraph (d). The noble Lord said: This is a probing amendment that we have tabled in response to a briefing from the Reed Group plc. I make it clear that I have no commercial or any other interest in the Reed Group, which provides products and services that enable the direct marketing industry to cleanse their databases of obsolete records. Its understanding is that the purpose of Clause 11, specifically Clause 11(1)(d), is to enable the release of the Registrar General’s death registration data to, among others, credit reference agencies to aid the prevention of deceased identity fraud. From its extensive knowledge and expertise in data from the direct marketing industry, the Reed Groups has serious concerns about the release of data, especially given the unspecific nature of Clause 11(1)(b), which does not ring-fence the users of the data sufficiently tightly. Any information that the Registrar General controls, especially about deaths, is of significant value to many organisations involved in the data and direct marketing industry, as well as to less scrupulous organisations. Although the initial intention is for that data to be released only to credit reference agencies, direct mail sent to the deceased is recognised as a tool for deceased identity fraudsters. Therefore, any individual or organisation could easily argue that they send direct mail or clean direct mail databases and have a right to access those sensitive data. That would, at best, enable private organisations to generate substantial income but, most worrying—surely the Government are worried about this—it would leave the bereaved exposed to abuse and targeted fraud when they are at their most vulnerable. I will be very interested to hear the Government's reaction to the amendment. I beg to move.