§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of computer misuse there were in his Department in each of the last five years, broken down by each category of misuse; and how many of those cases resulted in disciplinary action. [93051]
§ Ruth KellyThe information is as follows.
604W
HM Treasury Cases of potential misuse investigated Disciplinary action 1998 Nil Nil 1999 1 1 2000 3 3 2001 1 1 2002 1 1 The Treasury has about 1,200 employees all of whom have access to the Departmental office IT system.
Inland Revenue Cases of potential misuse investigated Disciplinary action 1998 61 56 1999 239 166 2000 300 233 2001 226 188 2002 211 205 The Inland Revenue has over 70,000 employees the vast majority of whom have access to customer records to carry out their duties.
The Department's records of these cases are not broken down by category of misuse.
HM Customs and Excise Cases of potential misuse investigated Disciplinary action 1998 2 0 1999 1 0 2000 11 11 2001 37 18 2002 101 42 The cases of potential misuse break down as follows:
IT systems Database access Internet Total 1998 — 1 — 1 2 1999 — — 1 — 1 2000 6 1 4 — 11 2001 10 5 21 1 37 2002 6 4 83 8 101 HM Customs and Excise employs over 20,000 people. The majority of staff have access to internal e-mail and external Internet services. A limited number of staff have access to databases that contain information regarding the business activities of registered traders. This access is required to enable staff to undertake their duties.