§ Mr. ColvinTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the study which he has commissioned from Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte into the workings of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 will be complete; and if he would set out the aims of the study.
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§ Mr. LeighThe study is expected to be completed by September 1991. Its terms of reference are to:
- (a) identify and describe any requirements the police and/or the business community in the United Kingdom may have for expert advice on all aspects of computer misuse;
- (b) identify and describe the main sources of advice and expertise on computer misuse that are currently available to the police and the business community in the United Kingdom (whether developed in-house or "bought-in");
- (c) assess to what extent their needs are or could be met from current sources;
- (d) analyse and, where appropriate, make recommendations on any new mechanism(s) for the provision of expert advice that may be required, having regard to:
- present and expected demands for information and advice during the next five years, as knowledge of, and familiarity with, the operation and implementation of the Computer Misuse Act increase;
- the need for education and training about computer misuse issues and the implications of the Computer Misuse Act;
- (e) assess and report on the extent to which the police and the business community may be prepared to finance any new mechanism(s) that are perceived to be necessary.