Police National Computer (1)
01 January 1991
Police National Computer
artdoc May=1991
House of Commons written answer 21.1.91 Col 5
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home
Department (1) pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for
Huddersfield, (Mr. Sheerman) on 19 December 1990, Official
Report, columns 203-4, whether he will (a) list all the items
of data to be held on the new police national computer that
will be linked to those data that relate to driver licensing
(b) list all the items of data to be held on the new police
national computer that will be linked to those data that relate
to driver records, (c) indicate whether there will be any free
text fields or warning signals associated with any driver
licensing or driver records, (d) indicate the anticipated
number of driver licensing and driver records held, (e)
indicate the estimated number of access to these records as
compared with routine vehicle checks and (f) describe the
circumstances when it is anticipated that these new records
will be used by police;
(2) pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for
Huddersfield on 19 December 1990, Official Report, columns
203-4, whether he received advice from, or had meetings with,
the Data Protection Registrar before deciding on the nature of
the closer links between the new police national computer and
the DVLA in Swansea.
Mr. Peter Lloyd: The proposal to provide information
relating to driver records and licensing on PNC2 is still at
the planning stage. The items of data that would be held have
yet to be determined. To meet the needs identified in the road
traffic law review, the following information would need to be
kept:
Name and Address
Date of birth
Driver number
Licence issue number
Type of licence
Categories of vehicles covered and expiry dates
Whether duplicate licence has been issued
Any current disqualification
Total number of penalty points
It is proposed to keep the information as a separate PNC file
and not to include free text fields or warning signals. I
understand that there are some 46 million driver licence
records. It is not possible to estimate with any accuracy the
number of inquiries which may be made of the file, but it is
reasonable to assume that it could be between 50 to 100 per
cent. of vehicle accesses. About 21 million vehicle inquiries
are currently made each year.
The application will enable a police officer to establish
immediately whether a person has a valid licence to drive
when an offence has been committed.
I recognise the need to keep the Data Protection Registrar
informed of our proposals for PNC2. A meeting was held last
July with his staff to discuss PNC2 developments and we shall
consult further as our plans for new applications proceed.