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Data Protection and Freedom of Information

I have generally the same analysis of the position as the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Nick Herbert): it is somewhat ironic that, today of all days, we are debating this apparently very significant increase in salary. My initial instinct was to be concerned about the increase. I looked at the figures since we first had an Information Commissioner—a post first created in 2000-01, when the salary was in the £70,000 to £75,000 range. It was still about the same when Elizabeth France finished and Richard Thomas took over. It has gone up gradually. Until today, it has been just about £100,000. The proposal is that it should go up by £40,000, as the Secretary of State for Justice says. I am persuaded, having looked at the evidence and compared similar jobs in the public service, that that is the right remuneration. I understand that the increase is justified by two arguments, the first of which is that the Information Commissioner has had a huge additional workload. The right hon. Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz), who is Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, has just referred to one additional piece of work. The Secretary of State referred to the fact that the Prime Minister asked the commissioner to co-author another investigatory report. The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice, the right hon. Member for North Swindon (Mr. Wills), has today given a written answer that deals with further work in the pipeline, so I am persuaded that plenty of extra work has come and plenty of additional work will be done.