National Insurance: Databases

Mr. Hoban
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what mechanisms are in place in his Department to identify inappropriate searches of the national insurance number database.

Mr. Timms
Departmental employees are required to observe the Department's standards of behaviour policy which makes clear that they may only access information where they have a business reason to do so. Employees are advised of these rules on appointment, and regularly reminded of their responsibilities. The Department takes very seriously its statutory obligations in relation to personal data, and takes disciplinary action where employee behaviour falls short of the expected standards.

The Department's customer information system (CIS) is the database that records personal details for everyone with a national insurance number. Access to CIS by departmental users is strictly controlled, and based on business need and particular user roles.

Specific mechanisms to identify inappropriate searches include random and targeted system-generated management checks, and electronic audit trails which are routinely applied in order to identify inappropriate use.