Draft Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (Disclosure of Revenue Information) Regulations 2015
The Committee consisted of the following Members:
† Afriyie, Adam (Windsor) (Con)
† Andrew, Stuart (Pudsey) (Con)
† Ashworth, Jonathan (Leicester South) (Lab)
Campbell, Mr Gregory (East Londonderry) (DUP)
† Coffey, Dr Thérèse (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)
† Cunningham, Mr Jim (Coventry South) (Lab)
† Heaton-Harris, Chris (Daventry) (Con)
† Hemming, John (Birmingham, Yardley) (LD)
James, Mrs Siân C. (Swansea East) (Lab)
Luff, Sir Peter (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)
McDonnell, John (Hayes and Harlington) (Lab)
† Scott, Mr Lee (Ilford North) (Con)
Sheerman, Mr Barry (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
† Turner, Karl (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)
† Wheeler, Heather (South Derbyshire) (Con)
† Wilson, Mr Rob (Minister for Civil Society)
† Wright, David (Telford) (Lab)
† Wright, Simon (Norwich South) (LD)
Katya Simms, Committee Clerk
† attended the Committee
Seventh Delegated Legislation Committee
Tuesday 24 March 2015
[Mark Pritchard in the Chair]
Draft Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (Disclosure of Revenue Information) Regulations 2015
2.30 pm
The Minister for Civil Society (Mr Rob Wilson): I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (Disclosure of Revenue Information) Regulations 2015.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard.
The draft regulations represent the sixth occasion on which the data-sharing powers in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 have been used. They are designed to meet demand for the development of a single official house price index and for progress on the census transformation programme work to improve population and housing statistics.
Statistics on house prices are of key importance to policy makers, including those setting interest rates, carrying out economic analysis and developing housing policies. Statistics on population and housing underpin resource allocation, policy formulation, decision making, research, and outcome monitoring throughout the public, private and voluntary sectors. The feasibility work undertaken by the Office for National Statistics has provided the basis for identifying information needed for research and analytical purposes. The data will be taken from information collected by valuation officers and held by the Valuation Office Agency for the administration of council tax.
The information required for each residential property in England and Wales includes the address of the property, the date of allocation to a council tax band, the date of the last inspection by the Valuation Office Agency, and property attributes such as total floor area and number of rooms. Those details, together with data from the Land Registry and the regulated mortgage survey, are required to create for the first time a single official house price index and to support the programme of research for the census and for the future provision of population statistics in England and Wales.
The ability to take forward work on a single official house price index will satisfy requirements identified by the national statistician and provide a better basis for understanding and monitoring changes in house prices. The new index will be able to represent the prevailing market price of residential property at the completion of sale; measure both house prices and house price inflation based on the price paid for transacted properties; have UK coverage; provide a consistent index to enable trend analysis; offer robust sub-regional estimates; and provide comparable estimates for subsets of transactions or properties.
Access to data on residential properties will contribute to the comprehensive programme of research, testing and evaluation that is part of the census transformation programme. It is anticipated that the data will be used to develop an address register that will be central to a good design and a successful census operation; replace or supplement information on characteristics traditionally collected in the census, such as statistics on the type of accommodation, the number of rooms or the presence of central heating; and produce new statistics such as information on the age of buildings.
The 2021 census will be online first. The address register will be central to a successful operation. The physical attributes of a property, such as floor level and type of use, will be invaluable in building the address register. Census statistics provide objective evidence to support decision-making processes and funding allocations across the public, private and voluntary sectors. For example, census housing data play a part in prioritising an annual capital spend by local authorities on housing of approximately £4 billion. Furthermore, planning decisions on housing are frequently underpinned by the use of census data to ensure that optimal decisions are made based on local need.
In accordance with regulation 4 of the draft regulations, the information may only be used by the Statistics Board, which is now referred to as the UK Statistics Authority, for its statistical functions. The ONS is committed to safeguarding all the data that it uses to carry out its statistical functions. I assure hon. Members that full account has been taken of the specific statutory obligations, including those in the Statistics and Registration Service Act, the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998.
A privacy impact assessment for the proposed data share has been published. It confirms that the proposed disclosure is lawful and will not breach any statutory requirements in respect of the processing, transfer or handling of the required data. In all cases, ONS complies with Government standards for data transfer and handling. No data will be transferred to ONS until both the Valuation Office Agency and ONS are satisfied that appropriate arrangements have been agreed and confirmed in a data access agreement. The need for and the benefits of the proposed regulations are clear, and therefore I ask the Committee to support and accept them.
2.35 pm
Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab): I am grateful, Mr Pritchard, and it is a huge pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, not least because this is my debut appearance on the Front Bench in a Delegated Legislation Committee. Of course, I anticipate that it will be the only time I speak from the Opposition Front Bench at a Delegated Legislation Committee—
Chris Heaton-Harris (Daventry) (Con): You are not that bad!
Jonathan Ashworth: I am very grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s comments. We do not seek to divide the Committee on the motion before us today, and I thank the Minister for his opening remarks. As he outlined, the motion seeks to allow the Valuation Office Agency to pass house price data to the UK Statistics Authority.
We are happy to support this motion, as it encourages better use of Government data. We understand the benefits that this can bring to policy makers, to the housing market and, crucially, to individual buyers and sellers who are making that important decision of purchasing a home. The proposed motion will permit HMRC to disclose to the UK Statistics Authority data regarding the physical attributes of the property—its address, the date of its last inspection by the Valuation Office Agency, and the date of its allocation to a council tax band.Upon receiving notice of the motion, my only concern was about protecting individual identity, and ensuring that with the sharing of this property data individuals are still able to remain anonymous. I acknowledge that it is difficult to identify anyone by revealing just one aspect of the said property data, but my concern about the motion was that by combining different data sets, individuals could be more easily identified than if the data were to exist separately. However, my understanding is that we have assurances from the Government, and we have been told that the Office for National Statistics has stringent procedures in place to protect confidentiality and to safeguard the security of personal information on addresses. We are therefore satisfied with the assurances that the Government have provided.
Overall, I am pleased that the Government are taking steps to improve housing data for all buyers, and especially for first-time buyers. Purchasing a home is one of the biggest steps people take, and it is important that during such a landmark—and expensive—process, decisions are made based on accurate and up-to-date data. This will be helped by the disclosure of detailed attributes, such as total floor area and the number of rooms. Having property comparables to hand, particularly with regard to property value and house price inflation, is important in bringing further transparency to the housing market, and so we welcome this measure.
The motion will also influence policy makers in their work. Recommendations made in the private, public and voluntary sectors can have a huge impact on policy analysis. They can affect key housing-related decisions, such as resource allocation, particularly with regard to investment in local areas and setting interest rates. Such decisions do not only affect individuals but also affect local communities. Again, I also welcome this attempt to bring accuracy to this process. We support the regulations, we are grateful for the assurances the Government have given us so far, and I will not seek to divide the Committee today.
2.39 pm
Adam Afriyie (Windsor) (Con): I welcome the measure in the following terms: I hope that the use of statistics will be restricted, that anonymity will be compliant with the Human Rights Act and with privacy, and that the processing, transfer and handling of data will be well managed. There are one or two concerns that I would like to flag, while not wishing to stand in the way of this particular statutory instrument. First, I seek reassurance that the provision of the data by HMRC and others to the UK Statistics Authority in no way sets in stone the
route towards an online census, but merely enables it to happen at the point at which that census may or may not take place.The second concern is the general one of state intrusion. We are all sitting here in a very relaxed fashion saying, “Oh yes, all this data about people’s homes and bathrooms and the level of the property can be sent off from HMRC and others to the UK Statistics Authority”, but actually I think that we need to be slightly wary and concerned when the state gets into people’s homes to that degree. Admittedly, this is merely the provision of the data to another body.
My third small concern concerns the use by the statistics body. How far will it be using third-party organisations in the management of the data and, if they are used, will they be covered by provisions, both in the statutory instrument and in previous legislation, regarding the handling of data outside statutory bodies?
The main point I would like reassurance on is that this is purely a measure to provide statistics in an anonymous fashion and that it seeks to do no more—that it is merely a facilitation measure, rather than a change in policy or the first step on the route to things that are not being discussed in this Committee.
2.41 pm
Mr Wilson: I thank hon. Members who have taken part, including the spokesman for the Opposition, for raising their questions and concerns relating to this piece of legislation. Today is the debut for both of us in this format and I hope that we will score a few goals, in that there will be no Division in the House.
The first question posed was about legal safeguards and the ability to protect confidentiality. Any person found to have disclosed any personal information will be liable to prosecution. The information is only regarding a property: no individual addresses will be disclosed.
My hon. Friend the Member for Windsor asked whether the data will be shared with other organisations. Information is being sought only for the purposes of the Office for National Statistics. No provision is made in the regulation for the onward disclosure of this information by the ONS, and the ONS would share data only when authorised to do so in accordance with the provisions of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. The ONS has strict arrangements, set out in the code of practice for official statistics, to safeguard confidentiality.
Finally, I was asked about personal information on addresses and whether that personal information is secure. I can give an assurance that that personal information is secure. The safety and security of personal information is of paramount importance to the Office for National Statistics, and we have stringent procedures in place to protect confidentiality and safeguard the security of personal information on addresses. I hope that I have addressed the concerns of hon. Members.