§ Mr. Arnoldasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Hazel Grove of 28 March, if he will describe the responsibilities of the radio regulatory department and the data protection division of his Department.
§ Mr. WhitelawThe principal responsibilities of the radio regulatory department area are:
- (i) to co-ordinate United Kingdom interests, and to represent the United Kingdom, in international discussions on the use and allocation of radio frequencies and on the technical and operating standards for radiocommunication services;
- (ii) to formulate policy governing the planning and allocation of radio frequencies in the United Kingdom:
- (iii) to license non-Crown users of wireless telegraphy apparatus (excluding broadcast receivers) and to specify the technical criteria to be observed, and, where necessary, the technical specifications for equipment.
The data protection division is responsible for privacy matters generally and data protection in particular. It has been concerned with the preparation of the Data Protection Bill now before Parliament. Its staff also represent the United Kingdom at conferences on data protection and other privacy matters under the auspices of the Council of Europe and other international organisations.