Protection of Freedoms Bill

My Lords, we have four amendments in this group: Amendments 86, 89, 93 and 96. Amendments 86, 89 and 93 would simplify requirements for consent for the processing of biometric information. In particular, Amendment 86 would establish an opt-out rather than an opt-in system and remove the requirement for both parents to consent; instead, it would require notification from just one parent to withdraw consent. Amendments 86 and 89 remove the current provision allowing children of any age to override parental consent, and instead permit only children above the age of 16 to object. Amendment 93 makes consequential changes to requirements for parental consent while—although I will leave this to the end—Amendment 96 establishes a new duty upon schools to consult the views of teachers, parents and pupils before introducing biometric recognition systems into schools. Our amendments in this group, as I have said, seek to simplify requirements around consent for schools and to prevent new rules from rendering costly, high-tech equipment in schools defunct. There are apparently no official figures on how many schools use biometric systems, but there are estimates. There was an estimate in a House of Commons Library note earlier this year that 30 per cent of secondary schools and 5 per cent of primary schools use them. Perhaps the Minister could tell us what he thinks the figures are. The Home Secretary’s description of the Bill's provisions as a double lock on the processing of biometric information in schools is a tellingly accurate reflection of the regulatory bulwark that schools will in future come up against in order to use existing biometric processing systems. By requiring both parents of every child to provide written consent, the Government are creating a potential bureaucratic nightmare for schools that use these systems. In the words of the Association of School and College Leaders: "““What is proposed here is a very burdensome and bureaucratic new regulation that will address no significant problem. In short, it is exactly the kind of legislation that the present government promised to repeal, not enact””." Confusion also abounds about the scope of the Bill’s definition of biometric information, with the Information Commissioner noting that the definition, "““as it stands is considerably broader than that in general use””." In that connection, will the Minister confirm whether in future schools will be required to gain written permission by parents in order to use digital photographs on file and CCTV cameras? There appears to be an in-built bias in the Government’s proposals that belies an inherent mistrust of new technologies that runs throughout the Bill. The requirement for parental consent from both parents is an example of this. Such a high bar is in no way consistent with other issues of moral conscience in schools, such as over the question of participation in collective worship, on which the law permits a child to be excused on the request of one parent. The provisions also display a lack of awareness about some family arrangements, requiring schools in some cases to contact estranged parents but offering no guidance on how a school is to judge whether the welfare of the child requires that the parent is not contacted under the exceptions in Clause 27 of the Bill. Perhaps the Minister can tell us how schools should decide whether the welfare of the child requires that the parent is not contacted. Yet more potential confusion is created by provisions in the Bill that would allow a child of any age to override the wishes of their parent and refuse to use biometric processing systems. The Bill seems to assume that children of five years of age should have the same legal competency as those of 16 years of age. Parents are trusted with the mental, physical and moral welfare of their children on most other issues, so it seems bizarre that a child should have the final veto on this. It is even more puzzling, considering the memorandum submitted to the Public Bill Committee by the Home Office, why the Government believe that parental consent is still needed for children beyond the age of 16. I quote what the Home Office said: "““The issues around the use of biometric data are particularly subtle and complex, and even more mature children may not be able to fully appreciate them. In other areas such as marriage and making a will children under the age of 18 need parental consent. In our view the issues around the giving of biometric data are similar in that respect””." Could the Minister say why, if the Government believe that the use of biometric recognition systems by children in schools is as serious an undertaking as the question of marriage, they believe that a child as young as five would have the competency to make an informed moral objection to both parents’ wishes? While we support the principle of parental objection for the processing of children’s biometric details, the Government’s proposals go far beyond anything practical and necessary, taking a sledge-hammer to efforts by the most innovative schools to take advantage of new technologies. It is likely to end up costing the schools hundreds of thousands of pounds over three years. There is a considerable amount of misunderstanding surrounding the use of these systems in schools, which in no way resemble the forensic use of biological material in criminal investigations. As the Association of School and College Leaders points out: "““The biometrics systems in use in education do not precisely identify individuals in the general population in the way that police fingerprinting may do, but merely distinguish between different students well enough to charge the correct ones for their lunch. The information would not be sufficient for investigative, forensic or evidential purposes even if made available for such, as of course it cannot be under the data protection registration of the institution concerned””." This is an attempt to tap into an agenda which fails to recognise the positive contribution that the use of these pioneering techniques makes to schools. Biometric recognition systems can provide privacy for children who receive free school meals by concealing the source of funding and removing the need for cash or the use of cards. They can be used for registration of pupils and borrowing books from school libraries; they can also help to ensure that unauthorised people do not gain access to school premises. More broadly, they expose pupils to pioneering technologies, helping to inspire the interest in science and hi-tech industries which must form the basis of our future economy. Yet the Government’s heavy-handed regulation means that the use of these new technologies in schools will become much more hassle than it is worth for many schools, which is presumably this Government’s hidden objective. A leading provider of these technologies has criticised the Government’s approach to regulation, saying that there has not been proper consultation or clear thinking about consequences of the new policy. It is the same pattern of mixed signals and rushed policy as occurred in the chaos created by the reduction in feed-in tariffs on solar panels. That, too, harmed and is harming one of Britain’s hi-tech industries. These amendments are in line with the recommendation of the Information Commissioner in 2008 that parents be allowed to opt their children out of participating while minimising the bureaucratic burdens on school. The Government have claimed that this Bill is about restoring common sense to public life. However, we would suggest that requiring schools to chase written consent from two parents and allowing children of five years of age to override the wishes of their parent stretches the definition of common sense. I made reference earlier to Amendment 96, which would establish a new duty on schools to consult teachers, parents and pupils before introducing biometric recognition systems into schools. In relation to the previous three amendments, we support the principle that parents should be able to excuse their children from having their biometrics processed where they felt strongly on the matter. It is to the unnecessarily burdensome and prohibitive framework that the Government propose that we object. This amendment provides for a common-sense approach to parental and pupil consultation by requiring a full consultation of views by the school prior to the introduction of any new biometric recognition system. Like the Association of School and College Leaders and the Association of Managers in Education, we are confident that most parents and pupils will continue to welcome the opportunity to access new technologies in schools and that, by ensuring full prior consultation by schools and allowing parents and pupils over the age of 16 to opt out, we would strike the right balance.