Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Google's "Data Boundary" solution; and what steps they are taking to protect the privacy of their data held on Google Cloud.

His Majesty’s Government has not made a formal assessment of Google's "Data Boundary" solution. However, it remains committed to ensuring that public sector data is managed securely and in line with UK law and regulations, including the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR.

The responsibility of managing a department’s digital and IT infrastructure ultimately falls within each Department’s own purview. However, departments are mandated to follow the GDS Cloud First policy and multi-region guidance, using cloud services that provide flexibility, resilience, and robust data governance. Additionally, the NCSC’s Cyber Assessment Framework and the Government Functional Standard for security set out the principles and baseline controls for managing security risks, particularly for critical systems and sensitive data.