Margaret Hodge MP

Margaret Hodge MBE MP (Labour) for Barking. Minister of State for Industry and the Regions

Responsibility for Business and Enterprise Group issues including enterprise, growth and business investment; strengthening regional economies; Small Business Service; E-commerce; communications and information industries; Companies Act implementation; Companies House; Shareholder Executive Industrial Development Unit portfolio; and corporate social responsibility.

Digital Economy Bill

Contacted by at least one ORG supporter.

Surgeries

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Children's Digital Rights

Partly due to her backing of the Child Database, Privacy International awarded Margaret Hodge the 2004 Big Brother Award for "Worst Public Servant".

News

2005-02-10 - The Guardian - Hodge defends IT project
Author: Lucy Ward
Summary: The children's minister, Margaret Hodge, yesterday rejected claims that a planned computerised database of details on every child in England could become another costly government IT failure.
2004-07-29 - The Register - US wins David Blunkett Lifetime Menace Award
Author: John Leyden
Summary: ... WORST PUBLIC SERVANT: The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Minister of State for Children. Margaret Hodge has received numerous nominations because of her patronage of the controversial tracking provisions in the Children Bill and for her determination to develop a wide spectrum of intrusive databases and information systems. Event host Mark Thomas joked that Hodge wasn't available to collect the award because she was at home "tattooing her children".
2004-07-05 - The Register - Shortlist for privacy 'Oscars' announced
Author: John Oates
Summary: The shortlist for this year's Big Brother awards for nasty privacy invaders has been released. The awards include: Worst Public Servant, Most Invasive Company, Most Appalling Project, Most Heinous Government Organisation and Lifetime Menace Award - now renamed the David Blunkett Lifetime Menace Award. ... Contenders for Worst Public Servant are Margaret Hodge for her support for a database of children and "good behaviour" orders for children as young as eight.
2003-09-09 - The Register - UK Gov's response to child abuse – unique IDs for all
Author: John Leyden
Summary: The British Government yesterday announced that it would be issuing unique ID numbers for all the country's children, and that local databases of all children would be set up in order to facilitate information sharing between child- (and not so child-) related agencies. The objective, depending on which Government songsheet you happen to be listening to, is either to provide child-centred services better, helping children to "develop their full potential" (Margaret Hodge) or to tackle child abuse more effectively in the wake of the "tragic death of Victoria Climbié" (Charles Clarke).