§ Sir Dudley Smithasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will announce the appointed day for registrations under the Data Protection Act.
§ Mr. WaddingtonAn order will be made under section 42(1) of the Data Protection Act 1984, appointing the day on which applications for registration may begin to be made, as soon as it is clear when the data protection registrar's office will be ready to begin receiving applications. The registrar, who took up office on 20 September, is at present engaged in wide-ranging consultations with interested groups and organisations with a view to devising appropriate registration procedures and is also in the process of recruiting staff. Good progress is being made and current indications are that preparations may be completed by the end of summer 1985. The order under section 42(1) will be made in good time before the "appointed day" to give users adequate opportunity to prepare their applications.