§ Mr. Greg KnightTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to undertake a review of the Data Protection Act 1984; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HurdIt has always been our intention to review the Act once it was fully in force and experience gained of its practical operation. We have now established an interdepartmental review committee, chaired by the Home Office for this purpose. The committee has been asked to review the implementation of the Act, particularly with regard to the impact on data users of the registration requirements, and to make recommendations.
As part of his general responsibility to monitor the operation of the Act, the Data Protection Registrar has, independently, recently begun a consultative exercise in order to help him assess the experience of those affected by the legislation. I have asked the registrar to make available the results of his consultation exercise to the review committee.