§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has incorporated the code of practice for information security management, published by the British Standards Institution, into relevant contracts with information technology suppliers.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe security requirements for information technology systems and services used by central Government Departments are stated in the HMG IT security policy document. This document is supported by use of the CCTA risk analysis and management method and baseline security for IT systems risk analysis methods, by the communications electronic security group memorandum No. 10 where appropriate and by supporting advice and guidance published by the HMG IT security authorities. These are regularly reviewed to ensure best practice, have been developed specifically for use within Government and have been in operation for some time. The code of practice for information security management was developed by and established for use by commercial organisations and does not specifically address the requirements for the protection of official information.