Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the data protection framework in enabling information which is required by statute to be included in a public register to be made available online in a searchable and reusable format.

The UK’s data protection legislation is technology-neutral and applies to the processing of personal data regardless of the technology used. Organisations responsible for statutory public registers must comply with applicable data protection requirements, including that personal data is processed lawfully, fairly and transparently. These requirements do not, in themselves, prevent information from being made available online where this is required or authorised by law. It is for organisations to consider their obligations in the context of the legislation governing the particular register.