Written question asked by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 18 June 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 20 June 2007. It was answered by Vera Baird (Labour) on Monday, 25 June 2007 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Data Protection: Prosecutions

Question: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many prosecutions for non-notification of the processing of personal data under the Data Protection Act 1998 have been brought by (a) the Information Commissioner, (b) the Director of Public Prosecutions and (c) others with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Answer: The Information Commissioner's Office has instituted a total of 26 prosecutions for non-notification under section 17 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA).Data on prosecutions under the DPA are collected by the Ministry of Justice's Office for Criminal Justice Reform. Data are collected under specific codes and not on individual case circumstances. Data on the number of prosecutions for non-notification of the processing of personal data under section 17 of the Act brought by, and with the consent of, the Director of Public Prosecutions therefore cannot be separately identified and data are not available. The information could be provided at only disproportionate cost.

Secondary information