There have been three such cases in the Northern Ireland Office and its agencies and legal offices since 1997. As there are fewer than five cases, details about the cases cannot be released for reasons of confidentiality. The Northern Ireland Office has clear policies and processes in place to ensure that staff understand the importance of data security and data confidentiality and to ensure that any cases of potential data loss can be properly dealt with.
The Northern Ireland Office breakdown percentage of contractors and suppliers that have reported compliance to Government requirements is: (a) the core Department—80 per cent.; and (b) our agencies—60 per cent. My departmental officials are working with our contractors and suppliers to ensure they maintain and improve compliance.
There are no contracts in the Northern Ireland Office and its agencies that allow contractors to store personal data of UK citizens overseas.
The percentage of IT systems holding protectively marked data accredited in my Department is as follows: (a) the core Department 100 per cent.; and (b) the agencies—75 per cent. The remaining systems that hold protectively marked data are in the accreditation process.