Forum Topic

Ealing Council fined for unecnrypted data

This might have been covered already, but just in case... Ealing Council fined £80k for the theft of laptops with unencrypted personal data of 1000 Ealing residents. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/02/08/ico_fines_two_councils_over_unencrypted_laptop_thefts/

Caspar Mason ● 5537d15 Comments

Whereas if you look at Hammersmith and Fulhamhttp://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/Council_and_Democracy/Data_Protection_and_Freedom_of_Information/Freedom_of_Information_Act/155555_Transparency.aspit would appear that the seniors may hope only for up to  to 10% performance related pay.Veeery interesting!

George Knox ● 5530d

These 21 people enjoyed some £2M plus in basic salary plus any thing up to 19% bonuses I suspect. Not to mention the contribution into their pension pots.Objectives of the Chief Execs office include:• Deliver clear community leadership, setting a clear direction for the borough• Deliver an open and rigorous approach to managing performance• Deliver clear, accurate and timely information on the Borough and our residents’views• Drive the delivery of value for money across the organisation• Ensure services are accessible and easy to do business with• Ensure residents are able to influence decisions affecting their local area• Deliver clear, accurate and timely information on staff satisfaction• Deliver effective strategic partnerships

George Knox ● 5530d

To contact your high-earning council officer I have found the following list. So when you have had no response from your planning officer or housing officer, etc. write or e-mail the people below. I think that Ealing Council guidelines are that they have to respond within eight weeks. If there is no response escalate it upwards or contact the Local Government Ombudsman to make a complaint.This information is published on-line by the London Councils organisation: http://directory.londoncouncils.gov.uk/directory/ealing/officers/ Ealing Council Chief Officers*Chief Executive Mr Martin Smith smithm@ealing.gov.uk; chiefexecutive@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 7089*Executive Director Children & Adults Mr David Archibald darchibald@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 8107*Director of Adult Services Mr Stephen Day days@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 9315*Director of Children and Families Ms Judith Finlay finlayj@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 7106*Director of Corporate Finance & Audit Mr Simon George georges@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 5000*Director of Legal & Democratic Services Ms Helen Harris harrish@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 8615*Executive Director Regeneration & Housing Mr Pat Hayes hayesp@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 5000*Director of Street Environment Mr Roger Jones jonesr@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 8576*Director of Policy & Performance Mr Graeme McDonald mcdonalg@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 7485*Director of Marketing & Communications Mr Peter Morris morrisp@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 5374*Director of Business Services group (acting) Mr Mark Newton newtonm@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 9645*Executive Director for Corporate Resources Mr Ian O'Donnell odonnelli@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 5269*Director of Safer Communities Ms Susan Parsonage parsonages@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 7398*Director of Customer Services Ms Alison Reynolds reynoldsa@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 6865*Director of Housing Ms Jo Rowlands rowlandsj@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 6526*Director of Built Environment Mr Noel Rutherford rutherfn@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 6639*Director of Schools Services Ms Rachael Seitz Rseitz@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 6195*Director of Finance Services Ms Adele Taylor taylora@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 5000*Executive Director Environment Customer Services Mr Keith Townsend townsendk@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 9551*Director of Property & Regeneration Mr Brendon Walsh walshb@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 4019*Director of HR and Organisational Development Ms Jackie Wiltshire wiltshirej@ealing.gov.uk Tel: 020 8825 6586 (Never forget about the power of HR! If a member of staff is rude or unhelpful try them!).Letters should be sent to: London Borough of Ealing, Perceval House, 14/16 Uxbridge Road, London, W5 2HL. Tel: 020 8825 5000. If you take them in by hand get a receipt from the reception desk and get the reception desk to call the person (or their secretary) to collect the letter or else it may languish in the internal mail system for a few days).(London Councils, 59½ Southwark Street London SE1 0AL  is a cross-party organisation, funded and run by themember authorities to work on behalf of them all, regardless of political persuasion. It also act as the employers’ organisation for the 32 London boroughs, providing advice, support and training, and representing them in negotiations. Itsr members are all 32 London boroughs, the City of London, the Metropolitan Police Authority and the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority which fund its work through subscription.)

Charles J McGregor ● 5531d

Here is a question that arises from this discussion: is our council competent; can we condone a council where both the permanent and elected officials close down the borough's disabled centres and services for the mentally ill while continuing to subsidize mass public entertainment in the form of the Ealing Festival and the Ealing Mela that destroy our best parks and kill the fish in them?(Not to mention destroying the environment by building giant car parks).

Maggie Tomlinson ● 5531d

Regardless, the responsibility liez with the permanent employees whether they are competent or not. Incopetence has never been an excuse or reason in most of the private sector. If the permanent employee is not competent then they should be moved to a role of their level of competence (demoted), moved elsewhere, or sacked. New people come in with new skills and new attitudes.

Maggie Tomlinson ● 5531d

I would not necessarily believe that even if a contractor guarantees that something will be done, assures that it is being done, that it really is being done, without the council staff inspecting every single box. I have already been told that there is insufficient expertise available to run a secure operating system.

Chris Bell ● 5531d

Don't understand that at all.Contracting out does not divest the Council Officers of responsibility.

George Knox ● 5532d

I do not know where responsibility lies because IT services are contracted out, possibly to SERCO

Chris Bell ● 5532d

This statement from Julian Bell is very smelly. It smells of him and the Labour Group cosying up to the Unite/Unison,etc. union mix in the town hall. What you have to remember is that the councillors oversee the operations of the council and if the Execituve Director for the Envinment and Services says that everything is in place as it should be in providing services to the public how is the portfolio holder to know any different? The blae lies fairly and squarely on those people employes by the council to police and implement the data protection act and Councillor Bell is really throw the baby out with the bath water if he thinks that the electorate are going to believe that the council employees are innocent.  Whatever favours he may gain from "looking after" the  council executives and his paymasters the council unions he will lose in electoral support at the next election. I have been lied to by suffiecient numbers of Labour councillor not to believe a word that Council Leader Bell says!A Voter, Maggie.

Maggie Tomlinson ● 5533d

I wonder if the person with continuous responsibility is one of those earning more than £58K. It is about at that level that the responsibility should lie.Why? Because management working at that level are not too high in the scale of things not to study themselves an audit trail of due process. The same goes for management at that level in Housing and Maintenance and Regeneration and Social Services where the big money is spent.

George Knox ● 5534d

Ealing Council Leader Julian Bell said:“As leader of the opposition in 2009 I asked for an assurance from the Conservative cabinet that procedures were in place to ensure against any such losses and that they were being followed. I was assured the council was doing everything it should and that a data loss should not occur. I was shocked to find out in my first week in charge that council laptops had not been encrypted and a serious data loss had in fact occurred. This incident shows that when it came to data protection the Conservatives were asleep at the wheel.''The previous administration did not take data protection or investment in IT seriously and it has cost the council £80,000 at a time when the Conservative led government has cut £66m from our budget. The previous administration have badly let the people of Ealing down at a time when the Labour administration is doing its best to protect local services from the Government’s axe.” Trying to make political points may be ok. but in effect the people employed by continuously changing administrations remain the same. So this issue is George Osbornes fault??? OK So why not sack the people actually within the council who told their tory masters that all was ok??? that would be something that the new administration could do to restore some credibility.

Peter Chadburn ● 5534d

That is quite true as the buck must stop somewhere. but perhaps the most excellent idea of the year so far on this forum

Peter Chadburn ● 5534d

Best idea I've heard in ages.  :-)

Tony Colliver ● 5535d

The top people in Ealing Council all have bonus elements in their salary packages. Surely the fine should come out of their bonuses. The chain-of-command for this mess includes, Helen Harris Director of Legal Services and Democracy, the Number Two in the Council: Keith Townsend (Executive Directors Customer Services and Environment), and or course Martin Smith (Chief Executive). Perhaps about £15K to £20K taken off the bonus element of their "Chief Executives" £100K+ would focus their attention on running Ealing!

Luther Brown ● 5536d

"Both council have paid the price for lax data protection practices," said ICO deputy commissioner David Smith.No they haven't.  We taxpayers have paid the price.  It should have come out of the salaries budget.

Brian Davis ● 5536d