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Lord Williams of Mostyn moved Amendment No. 75:

Page 16, line 35, at end insert--
("( ) No power conferred by any provision of Part V may be exercised in relation to personal data which by virtue of this section are exempt from that provision.").

The noble Lord said: This is a purely technical amendment to ensure that exemption from Part V of the Bill, which relates to enforcement powers, operates effectively. Clause 26 of the Bill gives technical effect to exemptions from the data protection principles. Parts II and III of the Bill provide that references to personal data or processing in those provisions must be read subject to the exemptions. No equivalent technical provision had been made for exemptions from Part V. That is an omission, and this amendment seeks to put it right. I beg to move.

On Question, amendment agreed to.

Clause 27, as amended, agreed to.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: Perhaps I may say one thing before I move the adjournment. It is possible that for a short period of time, because I have another duty elsewhere, I shall not be able to be in the Committee on Wednesday. The Solicitor-General will be here.

23 Feb 1998 : Column CWH63

No discourtesy is intended. It is simply that there is another matter to which I have to attend for a brief period which overlaps with the considerations of the Committee. Therefore I beg to be excused, not reproved, for my absence.

23 Feb 1998 : Column CWH64

I move to more joyful news. This may be a convenient moment for the Committee to adjourn.

The Committee adjourned at nineteen minutes past seven o'clock until Wednesday next at four o'clock.

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