Written question asked by Mike Wood (Conservative) on Thursday, 18 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 June 2026. It was answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour) on Tuesday, 23 June 2026 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

---

Electronic Messaging: Copyright

Question

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance the Cabinet Office provides to Departments on the (a) copyright and (b) ownership of electronic messages retained on non-corporate devices relating to official government business after a (i) civil servant, (ii) special adviser and (iii) Minister has left Crown service.

Answer

Official information, wherever stored, is considered to be held by the Crown, as set out in the Government’s 2023 ‘Guidance on Using Non-Corporate Communication Channels for Government Business’.

---

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

11156

Session

2026-27

Subjects

Civil servants Copyright Ministers Special advisers Electronic messaging

Link

View this Written question on www.parliament.uk