§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many access requests are expected to be made by Government Departments and agencies to the police national computer in the coming year for security vetting purposes and if those subject to the vetting procedure give prior consent to the police national computer check. [18413]
§ Mr. MacleanAbout 150,000 PNC checks per year are currently made on employees, potential employees, and contractors through the national identification service at the request of the Departments and agencies concerned. The introduction of direct access is not expected to affect either the number of checks carried out or the existing arrangements for obtaining the prior consent of subjects.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if access requests made by Government Departments and agencies to the police national computer will return information on bind-overs, cautions and the seriousness of the crime; [18145]
(2) what categories of information outside departments and agencies will have access to on the police national computer. [18146]
§ Mr. MacleanAccess to the police national Computer by the Departments and agencies concerned will be by means of a discrete application, which will indicate only whether or not a subject is recorded on the criminal names index or listed as wanted or missing. No details of any criminal convictions or other disposals or of the circumstances in which the subject may be reported wanted or missing will be revealed. The response will 87W confirm the name, age, sex, colour, and height of the subject of the inquiry.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) under what terms and conditions outside Departments and agencies will have access to information held on the police national computer; [18119]
(2) what restrictions will be placed on the use of information from the police national computer by outside Departments and agencies when they have access to information held there; [18120]
(3) what measures he has taken to ensure that Government Departments and agencies do not misuse direct access to the police national computer; and if he is able to trace each access request to the individual making the request. [18412]
§ Mr. MacleanThe arrangements under which each of the Departments and agencies concerned will have limited access to the police national computer will be set out in a memorandum of agreement. The first of these memoranda, with the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, has now been signed. A copy will be placed in the Library.
All security vetting transactions on the police national computer are logged and the automatic record made identifies both the user's identification code and the terminal from which the inquiry originated. Users will also be required to enter details of the relevant subject file as part of the police national computer transaction. The memoranda of agreement will specify that the information is to be used solely for the purpose of undertaking security vetting checks on employees, potential employees, and contractors.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the safeguards he has put in place in relation to access requests made by Government Departments and agencies to the police national computer to protect those subject to the vetting procedure, should a false positive be indicated. [18414]
§ Mr. MacleanThe limited access provided to the six Departments and agencies concerned will be sufficient to eliminate those who have no record on the police national computer, but not to identify positively those who do have records. For those who appear to have a record, recourse will be made to the national identification service, who will, as now, make the definitive identification.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who, within his Department, is to be authorised to have direct access to the police national computer; and what procedures are being established for ensuring that information gained from this source is handled correctly. [18118]
§ Mr. MacleanAccess to the police national computer within the Home Office is currently restricted to authorised staff at the Hendon data centre, which operates the computer, and in the technical and policy division for maintenance and development purposes.
Access by the Home Office security division for security vetting purposes has also been approved but not yet implemented. As is the case under the existing manual arrangements, any direct access to police national computer information for security vetting purposes within the Home Office will be confined to a small number of personnel within the security division who already handle information from the national identification service. Guidelines will ensure operational, technical and physical 88W security. Regular internal audits will take place to ensure that correct procedures are adhered to. In addition, compliance audits will be undertaken by representatives of the police service and Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary.