Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of data controllers who ought to have registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office but have not done so; and what steps have been and will be taken by (1) the Information Commissioner’s Office, and (2) the Ministry of Justice, to secure compliance with the statutory obligation to register.

The Data Protection Act 1998 requires every data controller who is processing personal information to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) unless they are exempt. The ICO’s website sets out the criteria for notification and provides guidance on the level of fee organisations should be paying. The ICO have also made it easier for organisations to notify and pay the fee by introducing online payments.

At the end of 2014/15 there were 409,000 data controllers registered with the ICO which generated a total income of £17,519,000.

It is for data controllers to seek registration; the ICO periodically reminds organisations of the requirement to notify.