£90k fine for Telford & Wrekin Council files blunder

Telford & Wrekin Council has been fined £90,000 after disclosing sensitive personal information about four vulnerable children to the wrong people on two occasions.

The penalty was imposed by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for breaches of the Data Protection Act on two separate occasions within a two-month period last year.

The council, which reported the breaches to the ICO, today blamed the problem on 'human error' and apologised.

But the authority hit out at the fine, claiming the council was being punished for keeping records of breaches while other councils which did not 'own up' were getting away without being punished.

The first incident was on March 31 last year, when a member of staff sent paperwork relating to an assessment of a child to the child's sibling instead of their mother, who lived at the same address.

The assessment included details of the child's behaviour as well as the name and address, date of birth and ethnicity of another young child who had made a serious allegation against one of the children.

In the second breach, the names and addresses of the foster care placements of two young children were printed out and shown to the children's mother. The council decided to move the children to alternative foster care as a result.

Council spokesman Russell Griffin said the fine would be reduced to £72,000 for prompt payment.

He said: "We immediately reported these breaches, which were limited in effect and were down to human error. We do not underestimate the impact on the people involved and have apologised.

"But we do not agree with the rationale behind the financial penalty and would point to other councils which do not collect such information and, therefore, avoid any punishment for breaches such as these."

The ICO's David Smith said: "It is the responsibility of all organisations to keep sensitive personal data secure."