Revenue and Customs: Data Protection

Mr. Philip Hammond
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Revenue and Customs takes to inform private courier firms of the sensitivity of the contents of packages it employs them to deliver.

Jane Kennedy
[holding answer 3 December 2007]: On 20 November the Chancellor announced an independent review of HMRC's data handling procedures to be conducted by Kieran Poynter, the chair of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The interim report was published on 17 December 2007 and is available in the Library of the House.

Mr. Willetts
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what form of encryption algorithm is used to encrypt data sent (a) from the Student Loans Company to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and (b) from HMRC to the Student Loans Company.

Jane Kennedy
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 December 2007, Official Report, column 1490W in response to earlier questions on the same subject.