To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether confidential or personal information has been compromised through the loss of property from his Department since 1997. (193446)

The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on breaches of security. However, following the publication of the Data Handling Procedures in Government: Interim Progress Report on 17 December 2007, Official Report, column 98WS, all Departments will cover information assurance issues in their annual reports.