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Written question asked by Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 16 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 18 June 2026. It was answered by Ian Murray (Labour) on Wednesday, 24 June 2026 on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Data Protection: USA

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what safeguards are in place to protect UK data held by US cloud providers from access requests made on US national security grounds outside the scope of the UK–US Data Access Agreement.

Answer

Under UK data protection laws, organisations must ensure personal data is appropriately protected when transferred internationally.

The UK has an adequacy decision for the US, which included an assessment of US national security safeguards. Where adequacy is not relied upon, organisations must rely on alternative safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses.

The UK has been designated a ‘qualifying state’ by the US under Executive Order 14086 allowing individuals whose personal data has been transferred to the US access to redress mechanisms if they believe their personal data has been accessed or handled unlawfully by US authorities for national security purposes.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
10436
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Data protection National security USA Cybersecurity
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk