Skip to main content

Revenue and Customs: Data Protection

Volume 471: debated on Thursday 7 February 2008

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) on what date contract terms were agreed with consultants for work in relation to the Poynter Review; (184969)

(2) pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2008, Official Report, column 2098W, on Revenue and Customs: data protection, on what date the decision was taken to appoint Kieran Poynter to head the review;

(3) how many other candidates were considered to head the review;

(4) on what terms Kieran Poynter was contracted to head the review of data handling in HM Revenue and Customs;

(5) on what date the decision was taken to conduct a review into security processes and procedures for data handling in HM Revenue and Customs.

The Chancellor announced the appointment of Kieran Poynter to review of HMRC data handling procedures in his statement to the House on 20 November. It would be inappropriate to disclose details of the selection process.

Following this statement, HM Treasury entered into a contract with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) who are supporting Kieran Poynter in delivering the Review. The contract is commercially confidential.