§ Richard OttawayTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list occasions on which his Department has conducted an inquiry into alleged leaks from members of staff since 1997; and if he will list the occasions on which the names of those persons accused of leaking information from his Department have been made public(a)by the Government and (b)by way of another source. [147191]
§ Maria EagleSince April 1997, the Department has conducted an investigation into a suspected leak of sensitive information on 31 occasions.
In line with exemptions 1(a) and 7(b) set out in Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, it has been the practice of successive governments not to comment on the outcome of such inquiries in order to safeguard security and investigative arrangements. However, I can confirm that the Department has not made public the name of any individual under investigation. I am not aware of any disclosure by other sources.