§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's arrangements for consulting the Data Protection Registrar during the planning stage of any initiative involving the collection, use or disclosure of personal data; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MatesThe Northern Ireland Office and each of the Northern Ireland Departments have appointed a data protection officer responsible for the maintenance of the Department's data protection register. Recently, with the assistance of the office of the Data Protection Registrar, all Departments reviewed their effectiveness in fulfilling the requirements of the Act and subsequently initiated a number of minor refinements to existing practice. There is an inter-departmental data protection officers' forum in Northern Ireland which ensures regular review of requirements as well as the effective read-across of departmental experiences.