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Government Departments: Privacy

Volume 486: debated on Thursday 15 January 2009

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which Government projects to date have had Privacy Impact Assessments commissioned. (241761)

Information on the specific Government projects where Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) are being conducted is not collected centrally. The Information Commissioner's office produces guidance on PIAs and is monitoring their uptake.

PIAs are a self-assessment tool for organisations and are not a statutory obligation for Government Departments. However, the Data Handling Report published on 25 June 2008 recognised the value of PIAs and required that Departments apply them to new programmes or projects from July 2008 as part of their overall risk management approach to protecting personal data.