HM REVENUE AND CUSTOMS AND THE LOSS OF CHILD BENEFIT DATA

That this House expresses its concern for those whose personal details have been mislaid by the loss of two compact discs containing child benefit data from HM Revenue and Customs; notes that since the merger of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise the Government has cut 13,000 staff and has announced that another 12,500 jobs will go by 2011; further notes that it was a privatised postal contractor, TNT, that lost the discs containing confidential data; and therefore urges the Government to meet the Public and Commercial Services Union to discuss as a matter of urgency the measures which need to be put in place to ensure that the Department has sufficient staffing resources and appropriate management systems.