Norman Baker MP

Norman Baker MP (Liberal Democrat) MP for Lewes

DNA database

Written question DNA Database 9 May 2006

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which (a) individuals and (b) bodies are authorised to access the National DNA Database.

Written question DNA Sampling 9 May 2006

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations are approved to provide (a) DNA profiles and (b) crime scene samples.

Written question DNA Database 9 May 2006

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many criminal cases familiar searching of the National DNA Database has been used in each year since 1997.

Freedom of Information

Norman Bakers campaigning forced the Commons authorities to reveal how much MPs were spending on different modes of travel,

Signed Early Day Motion 2699 Freedom of Information 10 December 2006

That this House welcomes the finding of the Constitutional Affairs Committee (HC991) that the Freedom of Information Act has `already brought about the release of significant new information and....this information is being used in a constructive and positive way' and the committee's conclusion that it sees `no need to change' the Act's charging arrangements; views with concern reports that the Government is considering changing these arrangements to permit an application fee to be charged for all requests or to allow authorities to refuse, on cost grounds, a significant proportion of requests which they currently must answer; and considers that such changes could undermine the Act's benefits of increased openness, accountability and trust in the work of public authorities.

Open Source Software

Signed Early Day Motion 179 Software in Schools 21 November 2006

That this House congratulates the Open University and other schools, colleges and universities for utilising free and open source software to deliver cost-effective educational benefit not just for their own institutions but also the wider community; and expresses concern that Becta and the Department for Education and Skills, through the use of outdated purchasing frameworks, are effectively denying schools the option of benefiting from both free and open source software and the value and experience small and medium ICT companies could bring to the schools market.