Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with the Information Commissioner's Office to increase business registration compliance.

The ICO regularly promotes the requirement for eligible businesses to register and pay the data protection fee. This includes using publicly available company information to send 800,000 letters annually to prompt organisations who may be required to pay. They also regularly look for new and innovative ways or alternative datasets to reach businesses who may be required to pay.

It is important to note that not all businesses are required to register and pay the fee with the ICO, and registration is not a reflection of wider data protection compliance. Irrespective of registration requirements, all businesses that process personal data are required to comply with data protection legislation in full and are within scope of the ICO's regulatory remit.