Question

To ask the House of Commons Commission, what assessment it has made of the effect of the General Data Protection Regulation on the ability of hon. Members to carry out their work.

As part of its preparations for GDPR, the House Service recognised the impact of the new legislation on Members and procured a contract to deliver training, guidance, templates and an advice line to offer support to Members and their offices. Presentations and advice on GDPR have also been included at regional constituency open days since September 2017.

The House Service has worked closely with DCMS and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on the provision of updated guidance and subject specific case studies, including scenarios such as sending newsletters to constituents and others, appropriate use of constituents’ contact details, and dealing with complex requests for access to personal data.

In May, letters (together with the case studies, guidance and frequently asked questions) were sent to Members from the Chair of the Administration Committee and Managing Director of Research and Information, and from the Leader of the House.

Further work has been planned to update existing guidance for Members and their staff on the application of the Data Protection Act 2018, which received Royal Assent on 23 May.

The Government has responsibility for conducting formal assessments of the impact of legislation and DCMS carried out an impact assessment of the overall Data Protection Bill in September 2017. (It can be found here: https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA17-006.pdf).