To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what information databases his Department (a) maintains and (b) uses; and which do not contain personal information. (284392)

The Department holds a large number of databases ranging in size. These include corporate databases, access databases held by units within the Department and a large number of spreadsheets of data of which certainly the larger and more sophisticated could be described as fulfilling a database function. The vast majority of these databases and systems can be expected to a greater or lesser extent to contain personal data. It is not possible due to disproportionate costs to identify those databases which do not contain personal data.