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    Posted by Editor on 2nd March 2011 at 12:00 AM New bill 'gives back freedom to citizens'
The home secretary has said her new bill will "protect the freedoms that we hold dear". Speaking at second reading in the Commons, Theresa May said the protection of freedoms bill would also maintain the security of the British public. The bill contains a range of measures, including a tightening of rules around DNA samples, a CCTV code of practice, an end to wheel-clamping on private land and an end to time restrictions on when marriage or civil partnership ceremonies may take place. It introduces a new regime for police stops and searches under the Terrorism Act 2000 and reduces the maximum pre-charge detention period under that Act from 28 to 14 days. The bill also restricts the scope of the 'vetting and barring' scheme for protecting vulnerable groups and makes changes to the system of criminal records checks. May told the Commons: "With this bill we have a chance to roll back the creeping intrusion of the state into our everyday lives. "Under the last government we saw the steady erosion of British liberties and the slow march towards authoritarian government. "They presented us with a false choice between our future security and our historic liberties. They disregarded the notion of any balance between the two." Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper told the House that Labour will not vote against the bill at second reading and expressed support for many of its measures. She also backed tighter restrictions on stop and search powers, but expressed concern about how that might affect the police in Northern Ireland. Cooper said Labour would seek "significant amendments" to the bill at committee stage. The bill introduces the following measures: A new framework for police retention of fingerprints and DNA data, and requires schools to get parents’ consent before processing children’s biometric information A code of practice for surveillance camera systems and provides for judicial approval of certain surveillance activities by local authorities A code of practice to cover officials’ powers of entry, with these powers being subject to review and repeal Outlaws wheel-clamping on private land A new regime for police stops and searches under the Terrorism Act 2000 and reduces the maximum pre-charge detention period under that Act from 28 to 14 days Restricts the scope of the 'vetting and barring' scheme for protecting vulnerable groups and makes changes to the system of criminal records checks Enables those with convictions for consensual sexual relations between men aged 16 or over (which have since been decriminalised) to apply to have them disregarded Extends Freedom of Information rights by requiring datasets to be available in a re-usable format Repeals provisions (never brought into force) which would have allowed trial without a jury in complex fraud cases. Source: epolitix.com Copyright: Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd
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