to go to the press?

[MyRealNameIsBrian]

My Local Authority Childrens' Services Department have accidentally posted me the confidential information of 21 local children who have been under the safeguarding team.
This information is the childrens' full names, dates of birth, parents names, and full addresses. For some of the children their school or other information is also included.

I was expecting some post from them but in the envelope was about 8 extra pages containing this information.

The department is in Special Measures.

Last year they breached the data protection act by disclosing my personal information to someone who should not have had it, which put me at risk. I did an official complaint about that and was not satisfied with the outcome.

When I realised what was in the envelope I was shaking with rage.

I contacted the Information Commissioner, they said to email the Data Protection team at the local authority, and then to fill in their online form with a copy of my email. I emailed the LA.

Then I rang the local paper (totally anonymously with my number withheld) they were very interested and thought that I had contacted them previously, which I haven't so it must have been someone else in a similar position.

My LA then contacted me asking to return the information. What should I do? I don't trust the LA to investigate properly or to stop it happening again.

WIBU to not return the information but to ring the press with full details?

Please op if you have decency dont go to press...go to mp, police yes but please not the press! Very worried re these children.

Ofsted yes please op x

You are outraged that confidentiality has been breached yet you are considering showing this very personal info to someone else.

That doesn't make sense.

Give it back. Make a complaint via the proper channels.

And fgs do not photocopy it.

No harm in calling them to check but I don't believe this is a police matter

Would the police really be interested? I know that ringing 101 is standard MN advice, but...

I don't think the OP is suggesting giving the actual children's information to the press - I'm pretty sure she means 'full details' of the situation.

Yes Brag, I mean my full details, times, dates, (Social Worker's names maybe?)

I'd go to local bbc radio station and ask for the political reporter. Not an mp who has an election coming up. At least the bbc would be independent.

Bbc def not independent. Everyone's got agenda.

If you go to the press then I could imagine the LA going into defensive covering themselves mode. It would be a natural reaction, but would likely to be counter-productive.

OFSTED are the responsible body. So return the information to LA with covering letter, and send letter to Ofsted. They will investigate, especially as LA already on their radar.

Dear LA,
I am returning data you have obviously sent me in error as it contains details of xxxxxxx. This is the second serious breach of data protection I have been subjected to by your LA (previous one yyyyy see letter zzzzz). Due to this I will be reporting this to Ofsted as there seems to be a weakness in your procedures or training, as personal info should not be being sent incorrectly to third parties.
Regards

YABU about the press, but I can understand why you want to.

I'd say first step would be to call the Information Commissioner tomorrow to both flag this latest breach and set out what happened with your information last year (there's no enforced breach reporting below 'serious' so it's unlikely the LA would have flagged up at the time).

Keep some form of proof, so they can't deny that they did this. That is very important. I think TeenandTween has an excellent formula for the complaint: those are the points to raise with the Information Commissioner (re: not having improved after their carelessness caused YOU difficulties in the past) and Ofsted (the ones with the duty of care to these children).

Depending on where you live, your local press may well be "hollowed out", and unable to deal with a story like this, much less publicise it beyond a very narrow readership.

But they may also be able to publicise a genuinely worrying level of service to people who should know, ie the local public who are served by this department. In my view that's what local journalism is there for (well, one of the things) as opposed to non-stories about cats stuck up trees and so on. And I would bet the local press would know better than the department itself how to maintain confidentiality.

Hopefully, TendonQueen. As I said, it depends where you live. I'm quite close to London, and that's too close for the local press to make much headway against the centrifugal forces sucking away from this "community". London's far enough away that people who commute have a long commute and, spending so much of the day away, don't always have much in common with their more stay-at-home neighbours... That translates into a large chunk of the population not reading the local paper (or seeing its advertising!)

Have copies for evidence.

Ofsted, MP, local councillors, but not the press.

Which media organisation are you thinking of going to?

I would. This country is full of cover ups. It really needs to pull its socks up.

Like central government, local government, the police, health authorities, judicial authorities, charities and religious institutions have such a better record than the press...

I had no idea quite how awful my local social work department was until the local press ran a story regarding a data protection breach. The department was then forced to contact everyone individually whose details had been splurged. Six years later I am still battling with them to be given sight of the papers which were involved in the breach - they claim they are too damaged for any identifying information to have been seen, I ask how they know the papers are regarding my details... One day I will see those damn papers even if it is the last thing I do on this earth!

I'm a retired journalist. It is extremely unlikely and probably illegal for a paper to publish individual names of children who are at risk like this. What the paper will do is try to stand the story up, get someone in the department in question to open up, verify it -- extremely difficult. If they can't substantiate it they will ask local politicians esp those in opposition for a quote and/or info. if they do get any verification they might publish the names of the officials who cocked it up. The identities of the children are not of interest, altho actual numbers are. Eg 'massive council slip up puts XX vulnerable children at risk etc etc.' i would think there is a public interest justification here - perhaps we OUGHT to know about this massive cock up, how it happened and who is responsible.

The thing is, I actually do trust the local paper more than my local authority. If it was the first time I had become aware of a breach I wouldn't even consider the press, but twice involving me in under a year?! Both times involving very sensitive information. I am appalled that they can get away with this.

The LA told me that they contacted the information commissioner about their previous breach but I can't even believe that without proof because they lied about other stuff.

Surely the families themselves deserve to know too. I'm NOT suggesting that they find out through the papers, but as a side issue they should be told somehow. The LA knew about the first breach of my info for MONTHS before they finally contacted me.

Despite the hysteria over The Press there are laws governing what they can and cannot report. No editor would publish the names of those children. They know the legal constraints.The editors would, however, want to expose the idiots who put such sensitive information into the public domain, because those idiots need sacking before they can do it ever again. That's why we have a free press in this country.

I must say, this is the fastest response I have ever had from my LA. Yesterday they emailed me back within half an hour and this morning someone else from the LA has emailed me before 7.30am asking to come and collect the information. At least they appear to be taking it seriously.