Plymouth City Council has been fined £60,000 for sending a child neglect report containing "highly sensitive personal data" to the wrong person.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), an independent body, yesterday fined the local authority for a "serious breach" of the Data Protection Act.
Details of a child neglect case including confidential information about two parents and four children, notably allegations of child neglect resulting in ongoing care proceedings, were sent to the wrong recipient, the ICO report said. The incident occurred last November and involved two social workers when one of them collected a print-out of the report with other papers off a photocopier by mistake.
An investigation by the ICO found the council had no secure system in place for printing reports containing sensitive personal data, and had failed to take reasonable steps to ensure reports were checked before being posted.
Plymouth City Council said steps have now been taken to ensure a breach of this nature does not happen again.
The council will pay £48,000 in actual terms because of early payment of the fine.