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Data (Use and Access) Bill [HL]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her response. I wish to make three points. First, the critical question is: are our laws adequate to pass the adequacy test? Normally, when you go in for a legal test, you check that your own house is in order. I am therefore slightly disappointed by the response to Amendment 125. Normally one has the full-scale medical first, rather than waiting until you are found to be ill afterwards.

Secondly, I listened to what the Minister said about my Amendment 87 and the difference between what rights are protected by the charter and the much greater limitation of the ECHR, normally simply to do with the extent to which they apply horizontally to private individuals. I will look at her answer, but at first sight it does not seem right to me that, where you have fundamental rights, you move to a second stage of rights—namely, the rights under the Data Protection Act.

Thirdly, I want to comment on the whole concept of data communities and data trusts. This is an important area, and it takes me back to what I said last time: this legislation really needs trying to reduce to principles. I am going to throw out a challenge to the very learned people behind the Minister, particularly the lawyers: can they come up with something intelligible to the people who are going to do this?

This legislation is ghastly; I am sorry to say that, but it is. It imposes huge costs on SMEs—not to say on others, but they can probably afford it—and if you are going to get trust from people, you have to explain things in simple principles. My challenge to those

behind the Minister is: can they draft a Clause 1 of the Bill to say, “The principles that underpin the Bill are as follows, and the courts are to interpret it in accordance with those principles”? That is my challenge—a challenge, as the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, points out, to be ambitious and not to sit in a tepid bath. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.