§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence who, within his Department, is to be authorised to have direct access to the police national computer; and what procedures are being established for ensuring that information gained from this source is handled correctly. [18133]
§ Mr. SoamesAs a fully constituted and recognised police force, the Ministry of Defence police have for some time had direct access to the police national computer. The procedures in place to ensure that information is handled correctly are those issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers.
Direct access to the specific transaction for security vetting has also been approved for the Department's security vetting organisations. The service, which has not yet been implemented, will be subject to a memorandum of agreement with the Home Office which will set out 1149W the operating procedures and the purposes for which the information will be used.