§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in respect to the Compliance Cost Assessment associated with the Data Protection Bill [Lords], he will (a) place in the Library, in the form which respects commercial confidentiality, copies of the questionnaire telephone scripts used to assess the costs of compliance and all the responses used to assess the costs of compliance and all the responses received, (b) indicate the total number of individuals contacted during the consultation process, and the number of respondents with specialist knowledge of data protection matters, (c) list the organisations involved in providing information for the Assessment and (d) publish an updated version of the 1994 paper, "Costs of Implementing the Data Protection Directive". [25450]
§ Mr. George HowarthI am placing in the Library a copy of the questionnaire, which we sent to 84 organisations. We received responses from six local authorities; one representative educational organisation; five charities; four large manufacturers; three small manufacturers; ten financial and other service organisations; eight large organisations involved in marketing; and nine retailers. We assured participants of anonymity and it would not be appropriate to make the individual returns available, or list names. We did not ask about the depth of their data protection knowledge.
Estimated costs to Government Departments were assessed separately.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the practice of enforced subject access in respect of the provisions of the Data Protection Bill (Lords). [25600]
§ Mr. George HowarthThe Government have made public their opposition to the practice of enforced subject access. We are considering how best to deal with the matter in the context of the Data Protection Bill.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the purpose of the First Data Protection Principle in Part 1, Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Bill (Lords). [25599]
§ Mr. George HowarthThe purpose of the first data protection principle is to ensure that personal data are processed fairly and lawfully. The principle, as elaborated in Part II of Schedule 1 and Schedules 2 and 3 gives effect to articles 6.1, 7, 8, 10 and 11 of the 1995 European Communities Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC).
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Data Protection Commissioner with respect to 343W (a) enforcement of the right of data subjects under Article 12(c) of the Data Protection Directive and (b) serving of information notices; and if he will make a statement. [25601]
§ Mr. George HowarthWe have received no representations from the Data Protection Registrar about the enforcement of article 12(c) of the 1995 European Communities Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC). The Registrar has written welcoming the new power for the Commissioner to issue information notices but expressing a preference for the power to be modelled on those in other regulatory legislation.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for regulations relating to the processing of personal data which(a) contain a general identifying number and (b) are subject to Clause 28(4) of the Data Protection Bill [Lords]. [25451]
§ Mr. George HowarthNo firm decisions have yet been made about the use of the Secretary of State's power under paragraph 4 of Part II of Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Bill to prescribe conditions applying to general identifiers; or of that in clause 28(4) to make exemptions from the subject information and non-disclosure provisions.