§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will list the data bases and other sources of information held by the Government which will be covered by the European Community synergy agreement; and what steps are being taken to harmonise and publicise the conditions for access;
(2) if he will make it his policy to comply with clause 19 of the synergy agreement to ensure that any pre-existing citizens' rights of access to the original information as determined by legislation are preserved; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what guidelines he has compiled defining the conditions for the release and exploitation of public sector data and information, under the European Community synergy agreement; and how he proposes to publicise these;
(4) which public departments and bodies in the United Kingdom are included in the 1989 European Community's agreement on guidelines for improving the synergy between public and private sectors in the information market; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ForthTradeable information guidelines were issued in 1986 by my Department for use by all Government Departments and these apply to all Government-held information in electronic form. The guidelines are fully consistent with the European Commission's "Guidelines for improving the synergy between the private and public sectors in the information market", published in 1989, and do not affect Departments' statutory obligations.
The tradeable information guidelines are made available to the private sector by my Department and are also publicised by the Confederation of Information Communication Industries.