Express and Star in the UK reports:
A memory stick with details of vulnerable children and their families was lost by a Sandwell Council worker on the way home, it emerged today.
The incident sparked an investigation by the Information Commissioner and the council has found to be in breach of the Data Protection Act.
The worker had downloaded the data in order to carry out work at home – a breach of council policy – and lost the memory stick, which was not password-protected.
It included sensitive personal information relating to four families, including why children were taken into care or made subject to a Child Protection Plan.
The stick was lost in February and the worker was suspended pending an investigation. She was disciplined, but is still working for the council.
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The ICO’s press release about the Council agreeing to sign a corrective Undertaking can be found here (pdf).