§ Mr. Chris SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any information or data are recorded, referenced or retained by the police on their manual files or upon computer, including the national police computer, the Metropolitan police computer and any other constabulary computer, which describes, or can identify, an individual as being antibody positive to a test for human immunodeficiency virus or as having an AIDS20W diagnosis or any related human immunodeficiency virus illness or which describes that individual as being contagious as a consequence of such diagnosis; whether guidelines have been issued to the police in relation to the recording of such information; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter LloydMy right hon. and noble Friend the Minister of State, the Earl Ferrers, wrote to the hon. Member on 16 October on these matters. As he explained in the letter, it is for chief officers to decide what information to keep on local force computers and manual records. He also confirmed that police forces are able to record on the police national computer information on the health or likely behaviour of a person where such information would be of help to them in dealing with that person. The reply to a question by the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Mr. Bennett) on 15 October at column 725, sets out the warning signals which may be used on the police national computer. These include a warning that the subject of the record may be a hazard to others as a carrier of diseases. It is for the police to decide whether to use this or any other warning signal.