Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

To provide for the destruction, retention, use and other regulation of certain evidential material; to impose consent and other requirements in relation to certain processing of biometric information relating to children; to provide for a code of practice about surveillance camera systems and for the appointment and role of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner; to provide for judicial approval in relation to certain authorisations and notices under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000; to provide for the repeal or rewriting of powers of entry and associated powers and for codes of practice and other safeguards in relation to such powers; to make provision about vehicles left on land; to provide for a maximum detention period of 14 days for terrorist suspects; to replace certain stop and search powers and to provide for a related code of practice; to amend the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006; to make provision about criminal records; to disregard convictions and cautions for certain abolished offences; to make provision about the release and publication of datasets held by public authorities and to make other provision about freedom of information and the Information Commissioner; to repeal certain enactments; and for connected purposes.

The Bill includes a wide range of measures.

Key areas

• brings in a new framework for police retention of fingerprints and DNA data, and requires schools to get parents’ consent before processing children’s biometric information
• introduces a code of practice for surveillance camera systems and provides for judicial approval of certain surveillance activities by local authorities
• provides for 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
• 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
• 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
• removes time restrictions on when marriage or civil partnership ceremonies may take place.