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Camden News - by PAUL KIELTHY
Published: 25 September 2008

Vulnerable child ‘named’ in email

THE Town Hall has launched an investigation after data about a vulnerable child were wrongly released by a council worker, while in a separate case a staff member was sacked because of “misuse” of council records.
The New Journal alerted the council to the more serious breach on Monday after a resident discovered that the name, address and details of a child in Gospel Oak were emailed by a housing official to a council tenant who had no connection with the child.
The email revealed that a named child was party to a child protection plan, highly sensitive schemes in which vulnerable children are provided with additional support by the council and social services agencies and monitored to prevent neglect, abuse or harm.
Correspondence between council officials concerning the child was attached to a routine email to the tenant. Both the tenant and the housing issue were completely unrelated to the child.
On Tuesday the council said it was taking the breach “extremely seriously”.
The resident who raised the alarm, who took measures to protect the identity of the child, said: “This could have gone to anyone.
“It doesn’t take much to realise how dangerous that could be.
“It is completely incompetent.”
On the same day, following separate New Journal inquiries, the council admitted that a temporary staff member had been “immediately dismissed” after “misuse” of “confidential employee information” from the human resources department.
Salary information had been “inappropriately disclosed”.
Officials said the staff members affected had been informed.
After the launch of an inquiry within the Town Hall into the email breach, a council press official said it was an “isolated incident which we take extremely seriously”.
She said: “We are currently investigating to find out exactly what happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Our procedures around child protection are extremely rigorous with detailed information only contained in secured records which are protected against being forwarded, printed or downloaded.
“Staff who use these systems go through a series of checks, including CRB [Criminal Records Bureau] checks – this includes both administrators and any staff who work with children.
“We have no records of any other electronic breach by email, however we will be reissuing guidance to all staff around handling emails and reminding them not to forward any emails to anyone outside of the council.”

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