§ Mr. Cohenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state, in relation to the computer system dealing with immigration at Bootle (a) the purpose or purposes for which personal data are held, (b) the source or sources from which data are obtained, (c) a description of any person or organisations to whom personal data have been disclosed, including the number of such disclosures over the last convenient period of time, (d) the Departments that have or intend to have terminal access to the computer system, and (e) a list of the indices held on the computer system and the number of entries in each index.
§ Mr. Waddington(a) The primary purpose of the computer system is to identify apparent overstayers by matching the landing and embarkation cards completed by passengers subject to immigration control, a process previously carried out manually. Other purposes include the provision of statistical information including information about numbers of persons granted settlement on removal of time limit. The system also records the registration of foreign nationals with the police and issues reports in respect of those for whom no record of registration has been received after the registration requirement has been imposed.
(b) The principal data are taken from the landing and embarkation cards completed by passengers. Data concerning the receipt and outcome of applications for variation of leave are entered and, where the police registration requirement has been imposed, United Kingdom police forces contribute data at the time of registration.
(c) Information is disclosed to United Kingdom police forces in individual cases in connection with the investigation of possible immigration offences. No estimate of the number of these disclosures is available. Information is also disclosed to the police in connection with apparent failures to register and when variations of leave are granted to persons who are registered. It is estimated that such transfers occur at the rate of approximately five thousand per month. Occasionally, information may be disclosed to other Government Departments.
(d) There are no plans for terminal access outside the immigration and nationality and statistical departments of the Home Office.
6W(e) There are some 1½ million records held on the computer. They are indexed by unique identifying numbers — mainly those preprinted on passengers' landing cards—as well as by names, nationality, date of birth and the expiry date of he person's leave to enter the United Kingdom.