Mr. Paul Lambert:

The use of the electoral register for marketing purposes is a legitimate concern. One way of addressing it is to allow people to opt out of receiving marketing communications when they register. Marketing companies could be obliged to use a marketing list rather then the core register. The alternative is that people have to opt-in to receive marketing communications. I am not recommending that option and the marketing industry certainly would not recommend it, but a legitimate question arises in terms of whether a separate marketing list should be on an opt-in or opt-out basis.

I agree that privacy and data protection should be at the core of the electoral commission's work. These issues will dictate the way in which the commission goes about its business. A concept known as privacy by decision espouses the consideration of privacy and data protection issues from the outset of a project rather than leaving them until the end as a means of avoiding the speed bumps and delays that might otherwise occur. I commend the initiatives that have been taken in this regard, including the appointment of the new Data Protection Commissioner, increased resources and the first data protection Minister in Europe. It might also be beneficial to include privacy by design in the development of particular types of legislation.