Q&A WRITTEN REPLIES

POLICE COMPUTER: Government departments and agencies request about 50,000 checks on the Police National Computer each year for information on employees, potential employees and contractors, the Home Office Minister of State, David Maclean, disclosed last night.

Harry Cohen, Labour MP for Leyton, had earlier asked if those subject to the security vetting procedure had given prior consent to the PNC check. Mr Maclean said the introduction of direct access to the computer through the National Identification Service "is not expected to affect either the number of checks carried out or the existing arrangements for obtaining the prior consent of subjects".