Whitehall officials responsible for future data losses
(Via The Times) Jonathan Richards writes
Senior Whitehall figures are to be held personally responsible if their department loses or mishandles personal information, under a range of measures designed to increase data security.
Officials across the public sector, including permanent secretaries and chief executives of NHS trusts, are to be forced to take data protection “much more seriously” under proposals due to be laid out by Gus O’Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary.
In the coming weeks Mr O’Donnell is expected to present the findings of a report on data security. The report was commissioned by the Prime Minister in the wake of the loss of 25 million child benefit claimant records by the HMRC in November.
