Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Data Protection – 28 October 1987

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Data Protection on 28th October 1987.

Mr. Cohen Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement on the current status of the Government data network project, including a description of the discussions he has had with the Data Protection Registrar concerning the project.

Mr. Major Following the short-listing in March this year, further discussions and demonstrations have taken place with consortia. It is expected that memoranda of agreement will be signed shortly and tenders invited before the end of the year. A final decision on whether or not to proceed will be taken after tenders have been evaluated.

The Paymaster General met the Data Protection Registrar on 8 September and discussed the nature of GDN as a shared physical network facility for data but which will consist of a collection of virtual networks for each of the participating Departments. Further work is continuing on guidance to be offered to Departments about good practice to be adopted before linking to GDN. The Paymaster General and the Data Protection Registrar also discussed how the DPR might carry forward his planned contact with the four participating Departments, which are themselves responsible for the care and ownership of data transferred across the network.