To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what audits his Department and its agencies carried out in relation to personal data and IT equipment in each of the last 10 years. (176476)

The Department undertakes a formal programme of audits each year which can incorporate audit of personal data. The contents of these audits is dependent on the specific terms of reference for each review and a large number of audits have been carried out each year in the last 10 years across various areas of the Department. Since 1999 all IT provision to the Department has been provided under a PFI agreement. Auditing of the service providers IT equipment is the contractual responsibility of the service provider.