§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what data information systems his Department has(a) agreed and (b) been 362W consulted about with a view to taking part in; what are the criteria for inclusion in such systems; whether they will be linked to (i) the police national computer and (ii) other computer systems; what data protection provisions apply to them; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydIn common with many other Departments, the business of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is increasingly conducted with the use of data information systems. It would not be possible to document them fully other than at a disproportionate cost. Systems are registered under the terms of the Data Protection Act, under which the FCO has eight registrations, at present encompassing 1,194 applications. None of these is linked to the police national computer, or to other external systems.