Written question asked by John Denham (Labour) on Tuesday, 27 March 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 16 April 2012. It was answered by Owen Paterson (Conservative) on Tuesday, 17 April 2012 on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office.

Email

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his policy is on the period for which emails sent and received by (a) Ministers, (b) officials and (c) special advisers in his Department are retained; and whether such emails are recoverable from the IT systems in his Department after that period.

Answer: The Northern Ireland Office policy for the retention of emails sent and received applies equally to Ministers, officials and special advisers. Emails are deleted from all accounts alter 90 days. Once deleted, these may be restored, if necessary, from the Department's backup system for a period of up to six months. Emails sent or received may, if required for business purposes, be saved for the record to the Department's electronic document records management system. The policy regarding emails remains exactly the same as it was under the previous Administration supported by the right hon. Gentleman.

Secondary information