§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to issue advice as to whether schools are independent data users under the Data Protection Act.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthMy right hon. Friend has recently advised the Data Protection Registrar that in matters of school administration, with the exception of school registers, the governors of LEA-maintained schools hold electronic data as agents of the local education authority and are thus covered by the authority's data users licence. Governors keeping their registers on computer must however be licensed separately. The Department will issue guidance on this subject to authorities and schools in the near future.