§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Huddersfield, (Mr. Sheerman) on 19 December 1990,Official Report, columns 203–4, whether he will (a) list all the items of data to be held on the new police national computer that will be linked to those data that relate to driver licensing (b) list all the items of data to be held on the new police national computer that will be linked to those data that relate to driver records, (c) indicate whether there will be any free text fields or warning signals associated with any driver licensing or driver records. (d) indicate the anticipated number of driver licensing and driver records held, (e) indicate the estimated number of access to these records as compared with routine vehicle checks and (f) describe the circumstances when it is anticipated that these new records will be used by police;
(2) pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Huddersfield on 19 December 1990, Official Report, columns 203–4, whether he received advice from, or had meetings with, the Data Protection Registrar before deciding on the nature of the closer links between the new police national computer and the DVLA in Swansea.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe proposal to provide information relating to driver records and licensing on PNC2 is still at the planning stage. The items of data that would be held have yet to be determined. To meet the needs identified in the road traffic law review, the following information would need to be kept:
- Name and address
- Date of birth
- Driver number
- Licence issue number
- Type of licence
- Categories of vehicles covered and expiry dates
- Whether duplicate licence has been issued
- Any current disqualification
- Total number of penalty points
It is proposed to keep the information as a separate PNC file and not to include free text fields or warning signals. I understand that there are some 46 million driver licence records. It is not possible to estimate with any accuracy the number of inquiries which may be made of the file, but it is reasonable to assume that it could be between 50 to 100 per cent. of vehicle accesses. About 21 million vehicle inquiries are currently made each year.
6WThe application will enable a police officer to establish immediately whether a person has a valid licence to drive and the appropriateness of the fixed penalty procedures when an offence has been committed.
I recognise the need to keep the Data Protection Registrar informed of our proposals for PNC2. A meeting was held last July with his staff to discuss PNC2 developments and we shall consult further as our plans for new applications proceed.