4.5 Public Safety and National Security

302. We intend to build on the current detailed rules that apply to the collection, use and retention of biometric data by the police, including the possibility of issuing additional codes of practice under Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018. The use of codes of practice to provide guidance could help to explain the application of data protection laws and provide valuable support to law enforcement. By pursuing our ambition to align more closely the commercial, law enforcement and national security processing frameworks, it is important to have the flexibility to bring both further clarity to the police and greater transparency to the public.

The government welcomes views on the following question:

Q4.4.8. To what extent do you agree with the following statement: ‘There is an opportunity to streamline and clarify rules on police collection, use and retention of data for biometrics in order to improve transparency and public safety’?

○ Strongly agree ○ Somewhat agree ○ Neither agree nor disagree ○ Somewhat disagree ○ Strongly disagree

Please explain your answer, providing supporting evidence where possible.

4.5 Public Safety and National Security

303. The preceding proposals seek to clarify the circumstances in which data can be processed and provide controllers with greater confidence to process and use data in the public interest. It is also vital that this reform agenda can enhance the work of our law enforcement bodies and UK Intelligence Services in the interests of public safety.

304. To encourage and facilitate the effective sharing of data for law enforcement and national security purposes, we consider there is value in seeking to minimise differences and improve consistency across the commercial, law enforcement and national security processing regimes. Greater consistency between the regimes and additional clarity on data sharing between controllers operating under different rules will ensure that both the public and controllers have a better understanding of how and when data is used to maximise the opportunities to support cross-sector working.

305. To drive consistency across the UK GDPR, Part 3 (Law Enforcement processing) and Part 4 (Intelligence services processing) of the Data Protection Act 2018, the government intends to explore whether it is possible to align key terms that are used across these different data processing frameworks. Differences between each of these processing frameworks is to be expected, given they were drafted to apply to specific types of processing. Nonetheless the standardisation of terminology and definitions, where appropriate, could provide controllers with greater clarity on their obligations and confidence to the public on how data is being used.

306. To build on the wider reform proposals that support better private and public sector

collaboration, the government will seek to clarify the legislation to facilitate improved cross-sector working, which will support in particular the joint operational activity

between law enforcement and national security partners. For example, currently controllers 111