To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission with reference to the answer of 2 March 2009, Official Report, column 1211W, and pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2010, Official Report, column 434W, on Members: email, whether Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption is now compatible with Parliament’s current version of VPN (remote access) software; what methods of email encryption are compatible with the PICT IT system; whether (a) S/MIME and (b) Steganos can be used on hon. Members’ computers; and whether hon. Members and their staff can choose to install PGP encryption software on their computers without PICT exercising its right to remove it. (318316)

The House of Commons Commission does not release information relating to software configuration. For more information regarding Members’ rights to install software on parliamentary computers I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to him on 2 March 2009, Official Report, column 1211W.

Members and their staff may install their own software on their parliamentary computers. Members are responsible for the licensing and maintenance of any software that they install and, as the conditions of supply provide, PICT reserves the right to remove any software that is found to interfere with the proper operation of the hardware concerned, or the parliamentary network.