§ Mr. Cohenasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many registrations his Department has made under the Data Protection Act; how many people are involved with implementing the legislation in his Department as a significant part of their job description; and how much he estimates it will cost to conform with the eight data protection principles.
§ Mr. EggarThis Department has submitted eight applications for registration under the Data Protection Act.
One officer is presently employed full time as a data protection co-ordinator, and each department and mission in the Diplomatic Service has a liaison officer appointed to ensure that the eight principles are followed.
New expenditure involved will be approximately £36,500 annually. The total annual cost including the time of existing staff is estimated at £146,000.
§ Mr. Cohenasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many certificates he has signed under section 27 of the Data Protection Act; and if he will describe briefly the subject matter of each.
§ Mr. EggarCertificates under section 27 of the Data Protection Act relate to exemption from the provisions of part 11 and sections 21 to 24 of part IV of the Act, for the purpose of safeguarding national security. Disclosing details of such certificates would itself not be in the interests of national security.