Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of concerns raised by civil rights groups regarding the potential negative effects that exemptions for the Home Office from the Data Protection Bill might have on future migrants; and what protections, if any, they plan to put in place to prevent another event similar to the Windrush scandal.

The Government has listened to concerns raised and revised the scope of the immigration exemption in the Data Protection Bill by removing exemptions in relation to the right to rectification and the right to data portability, Articles 16 and 20 respectively of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

We have also tabled a further amendment to remove the exemption relating to fair and transparent processing at paragraph 4(2)(b) of Schedule 2. The remaining exemptions will ensure that while people’s rights relating to data are protected, day to day operations relating to immigration controls are not obstructed, and individual rights are balanced against the wider public interest in maintaining an effective immigration system. We will publish detailed and robust guidance on how the exemption may be used in limited circumstances on a case-by-case basis. People will also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner if they disagree with any use of the immigration exemption.