The Government believes it is important that the Information Commissioner’s Office is funded at a sufficient level to enable the Commissioner to carry out his statutory functions. The ICO’s sponsor department within the Government is the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). DCMS works with the Cabinet Office to remain updated on Freedom of Information policy and to discuss budgetary responsibility where appropriate. This governance structure helps to avoid any perception that there is a potential conflict of interest with FOI policy. We would remind the Committee that the Information Commissioner has a number of regulatory and legislative duties including Data Protection.