To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the written ministerial statement of 27 June 2007, Official Report, column 31WS, on the Justice and Home Affairs Council, when she expects the UK to begin sharing data on fingerprints, DNA and vehicle registration under the terms of the EU Council Decision on the stepping up of cross-border co-operation. (192783)

The EU Council Decision on the stepping up of cross-border co-operation (also know as the Prüm Council Decision) provides improved arrangements for the sharing of fingerprint, DNA and vehicle registration data by law enforcement authorities. For example, where a DNA sample retrieved from a crime scene is searched against a national database and no match is found, the Council Decision permits for those data to be transmitted and searched through member states' national databases. A notification is sent to the requesting member state notifying of a hit or no hit i.e. matching profile. If a match is identified, further requests for information are processed through existing secure police channels allowing for appropriate data protection safeguards.

The UK expects to begin sharing data in this way within three years of adoption and publication of the legal texts.