HC Deb 24 February 1997 vol 291 cc66-7W
Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answers of 14 January,Official Report, column 220, and 20 January, Official Report, column 490, and to his oral statement of 5 February, Official Report, column 1030, what factors determined whether his Department was able to disclose the whereabouts, by county or postal district, of the dental practices. [15189]

Mr. Malone

Details of individuals are withheld when their release could lead to an unwarranted invasion of privacy by identification of that individual. To release such information would be in breach of the open government code of conduct. The decision to release information, for example about location of practices, relies on a judgment about whether the totality of information which would then be available about the individual would make identification likely.