§ Harry CohenTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library formal privacy impact assessments relating to the population register which is being compiled by the Registrar General. [185953]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the General Registrar for England and Wales, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Harry Cohen, dated 22 July 2004:
As Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning privacy impact assessments relating to the population register. (185953)
Work on the Citizen Information Project is being taken forward by the General Register Office (GRO), part of the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The Project is concerned with establishing the potential of a population register for providing cost savings and improvements to the delivery of public services. It is currently in the project definition stage. A detailed business case has still to be developed and no decision has been taken yet as to whether or not the population register should proceed to implementation.
ONS is considering, its plans for public consultation. We would anticipate that a privacy impact assessment would form part of any formal consultation process. Any consultation document would be placed in the Library of the House of Commons, in line with standard procedure.