Ealing Council Red Faced After Court Data Lost

Some of the information relating to adults and children said to be 'sensitive'

Ealing Council has apologised after the personal information of adults and children was lost when a social worker left documents on the roof of the car and drove off.

It happened in February and data relating to 27 people including 14 children, has never been recovered.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) which is responsible for upholding information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals, has told the council it must toughen up its data protection practices.

Enforcement manager at ICO, Sally-Anne Poole, said, "This council failed to follow our previous advice that it needed to improve training to make sure staff know how to look after personal information.Many of us have no choice but to take work out of the office.But when that work includes personal data, there is an obligation to ensure it’s kept safe.People have a right to expect that will happen. Losing personal data – especially sensitive data – can cause damage and distress to the people involved."

An Ealing Council spokesperson said,“We regret that this has happened and fully accept the findings and recommendations of the ICO which we have begun to implement.”

The measures includes improving staff training in data protection and reviewing policies around how documents are protected when taken out of the office.

16 November 2016