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Data Protection and Freedom of Information

I shall certainly follow that up, because it is an area in which the Government must ensure that what happens on the ground reflects the law and practices. I wish to make two final sets of points. The first is about the way in which this role has moved from being that of Data Protection Registrar, which was a fairly modest role out of the public eye, to that of Information Commissioner, which is a large role in the public eye. The change has been a considerable one. The Information Commissioner is in the media almost every day. Last year, he had to appear before nine Select Committees, which, I believe is more than any Minister has had to do in a year. Secondly, I am happy to respond to questions about the Information Commissioner's remuneration, but I should just say that the level of remuneration was carefully scrutinised within government and it is not only comparable with, but, in many respects, lower than that for many other posts that bear less responsibility. With those considerations in mind, I commend the motion to the House.