The prompt comes from the Big Brother Watch, who after conducting the research, discovered that 132 local authorities were involved with 35 cases incorrectly handling information relating to people in care and children, impacting a minimum of 3,100 of the latter. The research also revealed that computers and laptops were lost a minimum of 244 times, mobile devices 93 times and memory sticks 98. All incidents occurred between August 3rd 2008 and August 3rd 2011 and made available following a Freedom of Information request, which 91 per cent of councils responded to. Commenting on the results of the survey, Director of the organisation Nick Pickles said: "For more than 3,000 children and young people to have their personal information compromised is deeply disturbing, as in most cases parents will not be aware of the incidents." He stated the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) was informed about failing on just 55 occasions and suggested that it should be allowed to audit the public bodies without the need for prior consent. "Despite having access to increasing amounts of data and being responsible for even more services, local authorities are simply not able to say our personal information is safe with them," Mr Pickles cautioned. Concerns were also raised that dismissal of an employee was the end result of just a "tiny fraction" of the cases, perhaps highlighting the issue that keeping sensitive data safe is not as well prioritised as it should be. The ICO recently called on Southwark Council to improve its data management as information relating to 7,200 individuals was found after being incorrectly disposed of at one of its former buildings - the Spa Road Complex - in December 2009. |
