Investigations into the loss or unauthorised disclosure of information have to consider everyone with access to the information in question.
By its nature, the Cabinet Office holds information across the full range of Government activity.
Information about civil servants in the Cabinet Office included in investigations concerning the loss or deliberate disclosure of data and confidential information is not held centrally. Fewer than five staff working in the Cabinet Office at the time of loss or unauthorised disclosure of data or confidential information have been suspended or dismissed following such investigations since 1998.
(2) how many contracts (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have which allow contractors to store personal data of UK citizens overseas; for which contracts this applies; in which countries the data for each contract is held; and how many people have their data stored overseas in the case of each such contract.
The data handling report published on 25 June 2008, Official Report, columns 25-26WS, and the cross Government minimum mandatory measures, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House, define the responsibilities for safeguarding data. These stand alongside Data Protection legislation.
All Departments and agencies, or contractors working on their behalf, must comply with Data Protection legislation and adhere to these new arrangements. The Cabinet Office wrote to all its contractors and suppliers in September to confirm their compliance with these new arrangements and was assured that they did.
All ICT systems in the Cabinet Office are fully accredited to the Government’s security standards.