Compensation for sensitive council data breaches

Sensitive council data breaches can lead to victims suffering considerable distress caused by the loss of control of their personal information.

Councils and local authorities store and process a significant wealth of very personal information for a huge number of people. Their duty to protect this information is incredibly important. If they fail to adhere to vital data protection laws, a victim of a data breach could be entitled to claim compensation now.

Claim compensation for sensitive council data breaches

You could be eligible to claim compensation for sensitive council data breaches, and we would always recommend seeking expert legal advice from our team as soon as possible.

Local authorities and the agencies they use store and process a significant wealth of very personal and sensitive information. This could broadly represent what we may view as the “full-spectrum” of data, as it could include the usual contact data, financial information for council tax purposes and for local government benefits matters, and it may also include medical data and sensitive domestic details.

An example could be that somebody with a blue badge will need to have applied to the local authority to be granted a permit, and part of this process usually involves disclosing medical information and medical records about a person’s condition. With social services falling within the remit of local councils, sensitive domestic data is something that they will handle quite frequently.

The major issue here is that sensitive council data breaches can lead to catastrophic suffering for the victims who are affected. When we consider the impact of a data breach, we usually look at aspects such as the nature of the information involved, and how it has affected the victim. Medical, financial and domestic information can be some of the most sensitive data that there can be for us. As such, once it has been misused or exposed, the damage in terms of distress for the victim can be substantial.

The GDPR can entitle you to recover compensation for any distress caused by the loss of control of your personal information. Given that this distress can be significant, data breach compensation amounts and pay-outs in cases like this can be substantial.

A recent example

There have been many examples of sensitive council data breaches in recent years. There was a recent one involving Central Bedfordshire Council who reportedly published the personal information of 100 people with special educational needs (SENDS). It appears that the information for those affected was published on a website resulting in the local authority referring itself to the UK’s data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

This error by Central Bedfordshire Council has been labelled as a “catastrophic” mistake. Clearly, the information affected is sensitive as it may reportedly concern data in relation to fostered and adopted children.

We are unclear as to how this has managed to happen. In an age where data protection regulations have never been more prominent following the introduction of the GDPR in 2018, simple errors like this should not occur. It’s worth remembering that, once information has been published, even if it is removed, the damage may already have been done.

Free, no-obligation advice now

Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – is a leading firm of privacy compensation specialists. We represent thousands of people for data breach cases and have been doing so for almost a decade.

We have already recovered over £1m in damages from mostly individual clients, and we are always happy to provide free, no-obligation advice on a confidential basis.

You can speak to our expert team here now and we will see if you can help you.

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