To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many civil servants in his Department have been (a) investigated, (b) suspended and (c) dismissed for (i) losing and (ii) deliberately disclosing (A) data stored on departmental equipment and (B) confidential information in each year since its inception. (242920)

Between the creation of the Department in June 2007 and November 2008, no civil servants have been investigated, suspended or dismissed for losing or deliberately disclosing information. There have been no cases of data loss or disclosure of sensitive information requiring investigation.

The Department takes any breach of security very seriously and, in some cases, may take disciplinary action against those who commit such breaches. Policies and guidance on IT security are available to all staff on the departmental intranet. Logging into the Department’s IT system requires that staff must agree to abide by these policies.