David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential need for a separate national policy on the collection, use and retention of data gathered by unmanned or other surveillance aircraft operating in the UK.

Damian Green

None. Existing regulation and guidance, which includes the surveillance camera
code of practice issued under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, applies to
the use of aircraft including remotely piloted aerial vehicles. The code
provides a framework of good practice for surveillance camera operators in
England and Wales and sets out obligations arising from other legislation,
including those for the processing of personal data under the Data Protection
Act 1998. Any covert surveillance undertaken by a public authority which is
likely to obtain private information would be subject to authorisation under
the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).