Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) pay and conditions and (b) morale of employees of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO); and if he will make it his policy to ensure that all unpaid data controllers' registration and notification fees are collected and reinvested in the ICO.

The Information Commissioner is responsible for setting the pay and conditions of his staff in compliance with Managing Public Money and Civil Service Pay Guidance.

The Data Protection Act 1998 requires every data controller who is processing personal information to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office unless they are exempt. It is for data controllers to seek registration; the ICO periodically reminds organisations of the requirement to notify.