---

Charities (Disclosure of Revenue and Customs Information to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland) Regulations 2010

The registration has to take place first. This will be basic information—taxation reference numbers, names, addresses and so on. The charities can then be contacted by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland because it will have their addresses and basic information in front of it. After that, there will be a phased exchange of information between the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, including whether there are question marks about certain charities and so on. So it will be registration first, then contacting the charities and then starting the exchange of information. The noble Lord asked about the timetable, which I have gone through with him. The noble Lord, Lord Clifton, asked about the risk of loss of personal information and referred to past experiences in this field. Both the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will ensure that information is disclosed in a secure, efficient and proportionate manner. I understand that a secure e-mail is being set up and that all the information will be passed electronically. As soon as these regulations are agreed, we will be ready to go. The staff at the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland will be civil servants, so there is that security. Those who will be able to use this information gateway are at present undergoing mandatory information security training, which will conclude by the end of this month. Underpinning all this, as I am sure the noble Lord, Lord Smith of Clifton, knows, is the fact that it is a criminal offence for any unlawful disclosure of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs information, which, on conviction, could result in a prison sentence of up to two years. We feel that we have robust systems in place to cope with the transfer of this amount of information. The noble Lord, Lord Smith of Clifton, asked about sharing data with the Information Commissioner. That will be the case—that information will be shared with the commissioner. I think that I have answered all the questions put to me but I shall check Hansard to see whether I have.