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Data Protection Act

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what the policy of his Office is for ensuring responses to requests for information under the Data Protection Act 1998 are completed within 40 days; and what their procedure is to achieve this; [33474]

(2) what the period of time elapsed is for the oldest outstanding request for information under the Data Protection Act 1998, since receipt of the (a) original request and (b) administration fee; [33446]

(3) what his estimate is of the average cost of processing each information request under the Data Protection Act 1998; [33441]

(4) what administration fees are charged by his Office for information requests made under the Data Protection Act 1998; [33458]

(5) what percentage of responses to requests for information under the Data Protection Act 1998 No. 10 has completed (a) within 40 days of receipt of the £10 fee, (b) between 40 and 60 days of and (c) over 60 days after receiving the administration fee; [33465]

(6) how many requests the Department has received under the Data Protection Act 1998 for (a) electronically held information and (b) paper documentation; [33579]

(7) how many responses to requests for information under the Data Protection Act 1998 his Office has completed (a) within 40 days of receipt of the £10 administration fee, (b) between 40 and 60 days of and (c) over 60 days after receiving the administration fee; [33436]

(8) how many responses the Department has completed to requests for information made under the Data Protection Act 1998 for (a) electronically held information and (b) paper documentation; [33572]

(9) what the longest period of time elapsed is between receiving (a) the administration fee and providing the information requested and (b) a request for information and providing the information requested, under the Data Protection Act 1998; [33451]

(10) what his procedure is for responding to requests for information under the Data Protection Act 1998; if he will place a copy in the Library; and if he will make a statement; [33479]

(11) how many responses to requests for information under the Data Protection Act 1998 have been completed (a) within 40 days, (b) between 40 and 60 days and (c) over 60 days after receiving the original letter; and how many are still outstanding; [33567]

The Prime Minister: Our policy is to respond to requests for information under the Data Protection Act 1998 as quickly and as accurately as possible and in accordance with the data protection principles.

For the purposes of the Act the Prime Minister's Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. The responsibility for co-ordinating responses to requests for information under the Act falls to the Cabinet Office Openness Unit. They

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arrange searches for personal data from relevant parts of the Department in accordance with the provisions of the Act and collate and send the responses.

The Act requires that a response be sent to anyone seeking information under the Act within 40 calendar days of sufficient information being received to verify the identity of the applicant and the location of the information being sought. The Cabinet Office procedures for handling requests for information under the Act are designed to ensure that wherever possible responses are sent within 40 days. Although the Act permits an administration fee of up to £10 to be charged, it is not currently the Cabinet Office policy to levy such a fee.

Since 1 March 2000, when the Act came into force, the Cabinet Office has responded to 24 requests for information within 40 days (83 per cent.), three between 40 and 60 days (10 per cent.) and two over 60 days (7 per cent.), with the longest being 86 days. This excludes those cases where the request was redirected to another Department, or the Cabinet Office has asked for further information from the applicant and no response was received. At present the Cabinet Office has four requests outstanding, one of which was received over 40 days ago.

Those making requests for information under the Act do not usually distinguish between the format in which the personal data are held when submitting a request. The time and effort required to process a request under the Act varies considerably depending on the nature and complexity of the request and no estimate is available of the average cost.

Publications

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the publications issued by his Department in each of the last four years; and what the (a) circulation, (b) cost and (c) purpose of each was. [34193]

The Prime Minister: My office published three Government annual reports. For the costs, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 18 July 2001, Official Report, column 206W.

All three reports were laid before Parliament. They were published through the Stationary Office, and are available on the internet. The 1998–99 and 1999–2000 reports were also available through Tesco and W. H. Smith.

Lost/Stolen Property

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list those items valued at less than £50 each which have been stolen or lost from his Department in each of the last four years. [34219]

The Prime Minister: In respect of my Office, none for the last four financial years.

I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 28 January 2002, Official Report, column 26W, which said that no items valued at more than £50 had been stolen or lost from my office in the last four financial years.

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African Visit

Harry Cohen: To ask the Prime Minister what sales of UK-produced defence equipment he proposes to promote during his forthcoming visit to African countries; and if he will make a statement. [34470]

The Prime Minister: None. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Central (Mr. Lloyd) on 11 February 2002.

Performance and Innovation Unit

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will list the dates of meetings that (a) special advisers and (b) Members of the Performance and Innovation Unit have had since 7 June 2001 with representatives of Seeboard; and if he will make a statement; [34060]

(2) if he will list the dates of meetings that (a) his special advisers and (b) members of the Performance and Innovation Unit have had since 1 January 1999 with representatives of Global Crossing; and if he will make a statement; [34054]

(3) if he will place the records kept of contacts between his special advisers and the media concerning the Performance and Innovation Unit energy review in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [33975]

The Prime Minister: It is not the normal practice of the Government to release details of meetings or discussions with private individuals or companies.

Nigeria

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Prime Minister what recent representations he has made to the Government of Nigeria regarding ethnic violence in Lagos. [35377]

The Prime Minister: I expressed my concern and sympathy to President Obasanjo when I saw him on 7 February. We support the Nigerian Government in their efforts to reduce the long-standing ethnic and religious tensions which underlie this and several other outbreaks of violence in recent months. The UK sponsors a number of projects aimed at reconciliation between different ethnic and religious groups in Nigeria.

UN Convention on Children's Rights

Mr. Dawson: To ask the Prime Minister which Government Department is responsible for co-ordinating the Government's report on the Implementation of the UN Convention on Children's Rights to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; and for what reason. [35235]

The Prime Minister: The Children and Young People's Unit, reporting to the Minister for Children and Young People at the Home Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham) will be responsible for co-ordinating the Government's next report on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is a cross-departmental unit responsible for ensuring the coherence of the Government's policies for children and young people. It is therefore best placed to co-ordinate the Government's report.

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ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Ministerial Transport

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her estimate is of the cost of (a) ministerial cars and drivers and (b) taxis for her Department in each of the last four years. [27902]

Mr. Morley: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 30 January 2002, Official Report, column 406W.

In DEFRA we are unable to easily identify taxi fares as a separate item. The coding used to identify transactions groups travel by taxi with other forms of public transport (eg buses and underground), and to provide the information requested would incur disproportionate costs.

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