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

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 19 July (HL17042), who will be responsible for monitoring the adequacy of Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) after Brexit; and whether they have adequate powers and sufficient funding in place to enforce the use of SCCs where data transfers between the UK and non-EEA countries are concerned.

When the UK leaves the EU, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) will maintain its responsibility for enforcing compliance with data protection legislation, including monitoring the use of Standard Contractual Clauses.

In February 2019 Parliament passed a Statutory Instrument (SI) setting out the criteria and process for creating and amending Standard Contractual Clauses either by the Secretary of State or by the Information Commissioner in conjunction with the Secretary of State. These provisions include a duty on both Secretary of State and the Information Commissioner to keep existing Standard Contractual Clauses under review.

The government remains committed to ensuring that the ICO is a world class regulator and has the resources and enforcement tools it needs to safeguard the rights of individuals while allowing organisations to process personal data.