Immigration: EU Nationals

(asked on 25th September 2019) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2019 to Question 254812 on Immigration: EU Nationals, what the criteria and process is that her Department uses to determine whether staff require access to data in order to carry out their duties; and who in her Department is responsible for making that decision in each case.


Answered by
Brandon Lewis Portrait
Brandon Lewis
This question was answered on 7th October 2019

The Home Office is the data controller for all data processed within the EU Settlement Scheme, this includes where organisations are contracted to act on behalf of the Home Office.

No other organisations have access to the personal information of applicants to the EU Settlement Scheme.

The Home Office may share information with an organisation an applicant has cited within their own application. This is to verify the evidence and protect against fraud and the use of counterfeit documents. Further details are set out in the following guidance and privacy information notice:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settlement-scheme-how-we-use-your-personal-information

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-information-use-in-borders-immigration-and-citizenship.

The Home Office takes its data security and data protection obligations extremely seriously. There are processes in place in the Home Office for the capturing and mitigation of risks and vulnerabilities to ensure appropriate control of our services. I can confirm this is the case for the EU Settlement Scheme.

Our staff are security cleared and data will only be accessed by those who have a valid business reason to access it. The Home Office regularly monitors the systems for abuse and misuse.

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