HC Deb 20 October 1998 vol 317 cc1068-9W
Mr. Caplin

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the Government have, in addition to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise, designated additional competent authorities with direct access to the Customs Information System (C.I.S.) as referred to in Article 29(2) of EC Regulation 515/97 on mutual administrative assistance. [55776]

Dawn Primarolo

In addition to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise, I have designated the Intervention Board Executive Agency, the Home Office, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, as competent authorities to have direct access to the Customs Information System (C.I.S.).

The Data Protection Agency has agreed to be designated as the national supervisory authority responsible for carrying out independent supervision of personal data included in the C.I.S., and it has access to the system for this purpose. (Article 37).