Question reference: S4W-11561
- Asked by: Marco Biagi, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 27 November 2012
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Current status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 December 2012
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the proposals in the Draft Communications Data Bill, which is currently being considered by the UK Parliament, would have on (a) the police service, (b) the judiciary, (c) public record-keeping and (d) other (i) devolved public bodies and (ii) areas of devolved competence in Scotland.
Answer
The purpose of the proposed legislation is to ensure that law enforcement and other agencies across the UK can continue to obtain the information they require in order to investigate crime and planned acts of terrorism. As is currently the case, all public authority requests for communications data can be subject to inspection by the Interception of Communications Commissioner’s Office. The Scottish Government has made clear to the UK Government that there should be strict conditions in place to safeguard the right to privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.