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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of making penalties for data breaches a criminal act in which negligence is involved.

The Government keeps the sanctions available for breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) periodically under review. The Information Commissioner alreadyhas the power to serve a Civil Monetary Penalty of up to £500,000 for‘serious’ contraventions of the DPA.