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Cameron pledges 'right to data' Cameron pledges 'right to data'
(17 minutes later)
David Cameron has accused Labour of creating a "control state" and vowed a Tory government would hand power back to voters with a new "right to data".David Cameron has accused Labour of creating a "control state" and vowed a Tory government would hand power back to voters with a new "right to data".
In a speech, the Tory leader set out plans to give voters access to information in 20 key areas. The Tory leader said if his party won power it would publish information in 20 key areas in its first year.
These would include crime statistics, the performance of schools and hospitals and road traffic data. This would range from crime statistics, schools' performance and hospitals to road traffic data.
Labour and the Lib Dems have both pledged to increase access to data and limit the powers of the state. Labour and the Lib Dems have pledged to increase access to data and limit the powers of the state.
But in a speech at Imperial College in London, Mr Cameron accused Labour of eroding freedoms.But in a speech at Imperial College in London, Mr Cameron accused Labour of eroding freedoms.
'Grim Ripa''Grim Ripa'
He said a future Conservative government would change the controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa), which has been dubbed a "snooper's charter" by critics, and reconsider the use of stop and search powers under terrorism laws, even though in the past he has argued for increased use of the police tactic. He said a future Conservative government would change the controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa), which has been dubbed a "snooper's charter" by critics.
Describing it as "the grim Ripa" he criticised its use by one council to "spy" on a family for three weeks to check they lived in the right catchment area for a school they had applied to. Referring to it as "the grim Ripa" he criticised its use by one council to "spy" on a family to check they lived in the right school catchment area.
The simple act of providing information to the public has triggered the biggest shake up in our political system for years David Cameron class="" href="/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8119047.stm">Cameron's speech in full And he said it would reconsider the use of stop and search powers under terrorism laws, which he said was used more than 120,000 times last year - a threefold increase on the previous year.
He also confirmed that a Conservative government would review the extradition treaty between the United Kingdom and the US. Today we are in danger of living in a control state David Cameron class="" href="/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8119047.stm">Cameron's speech in full
And he expanded on his concept of a "post-bureaucratic age" - one of the key policy themes of his leadership - by dismantling quangos and curbing the salaries of top public officials. He also confirmed that a Conservative government would review the extradition treaty between the United Kingdom and the US and strengthen the right to trial by jury.
Citing the impact on Westminster of the publication of MPs' expenses claims, the Tory leader said that the flow of information had been much more powerful than years of traditional politics. He said Labour had started off with "liberal intentions" but they had been "crushed, twisted and lost" by the "overwhelming dominance of political authoritarians".
"The simple act of providing information to the public has triggered the biggest shake up in our political system for years," he said. "Today we are in danger of living in a control state," he said.
He said it let people "take on the political class" and demand answers and pledged to make more information available to people - on everything from NHS bodies to schools and traffic - if the Conservatives win the next general election. "Almost a million innocent citizens are caught in the web of the biggest DNA database in the world - larger than that of any dictatorship.
He said that most of the information available from the more than 100,000 public bodies in Britain was not available to the public. "Hundreds of shadowy powers allow officials to force their way past your front door.
"And soon we will be forced to surrender our fingerprints, eye scans and personal information to intrusive compulsory ID cards."
'Free data'
The Tories and Liberal Democrats say they would scrap the ID card scheme but the government says they will boost national security, tackle identity fraud and illegal working.
It also says there are no plans to make ID cards compulsory and any change to that position would require a vote in Parliament.
Mr Cameron also expanded on his concept of a "post-bureaucratic age" - one of the key policy themes of his leadership - by dismantling quangos and curbing the salaries of top public officials.
Citing the impact on Westminster of the publication of MPs' expenses claims, the Tory leader said: "The simple act of providing information to the public has triggered the biggest shake up in our political system for years."
He said it let people "take on the political class" and pledged to make more information available if the Conservatives win the next general election.
Most information available from more than 100,000 public bodies was not made public and that which was, was done so in a way that "can't be searched or used with other applications," he said.
"We're going to set this data free. In the first year of the next Conservative government, we will find the most useful information in 20 different areas ranging from information about the NHS to information about schools and road traffic - and publish it so people can use it.
"This information will be published proactively and regularly - and in a standardised format so that it can be mashed up and interacted with."
The government has said it wants to increase the scope of the Freedom of Information Act and is considering new curbs on the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act - which it brought in - after revelations about some local councils using it to spy on minor offenders.The government has said it wants to increase the scope of the Freedom of Information Act and is considering new curbs on the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act - which it brought in - after revelations about some local councils using it to spy on minor offenders.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently recruited Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the man credited with inventing the worldwide web, to look into opening access to more government data.Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently recruited Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the man credited with inventing the worldwide web, to look into opening access to more government data.