Written question asked by Theresa Villiers (Conservative) on Tuesday, 18 December 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 7 January 2008. It was answered by Liam Byrne (Labour) on Monday, 25 February 2008 on behalf of the Home Office.

Departmental ICT

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what obligations her Department and its agencies place on contractors in relation to the audit of personal data and IT equipment.

Answer: Home Department contracts include obligations on the contractor to comply with legislative requirements such as the Data Protection Act and these are set out in our model terms and conditions. Those contracts with ICT obligations have more specific audit requirements incorporated into their contracts. All personal data are to be protected in accordance with legislative requirements.The individual business units within the Home Department develop and review policy, procedures and processes with regard to their own security and data handling requirements and central guidance and policies such as that issued by the Cabinet Office.

Secondary information