Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the number of commercial companies that retain individuals' personal data.

The Department does not hold information on the number of commercial companies that retain individuals' personal data. The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) requires every data controller who is processing personal data to register with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) unless they are exempt. Failure to do so is a criminal offence. Information on registration can be found on the ICO's website at: www.ico.org.uk