§ Mr. Fryasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what fee he intends to prescribe as the maximum charge for subject access under the Data Protection Act 1984; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HurdIn setting the maximum fee, I have had to take account, on the one hand, of the needs of data users so far as possible to cover their costs and, on the other, of the requirements of the Council of Europe Data Protection Convention and the importance of preventing the fee from acting as a disincentive to data subjects. As350W a consequence, I have now decided to fix the maximum fee at £10 and I shall shortly be making the appropriate regulations under the Act. Data users will, of course, be free in individual cases to charge any sum that falls within that maximum.