Council tax form data breach at council branded ‘Scandalous’

A spokesman for the local authority said the 947 P11D documents, which are for members of staff at the local authority earning more than £8,500 a year and contain sensitive information like national insurance numbers, salaries and addresses, had been sent “in error”.

P11Ds are used to report benefits provided and expense payments made to employees by employers that are not put through the payroll. The employees are also given a copy, should they need it for a self-assessment tax return.

According to reports, the initial breach happened on Monday and Unite union north-east regional representative Tommy Campbell branded the incident a “scandalous breach of data” and that the blunder had “shocked” members.

He added: “It is disappointing that five days after this breach that council management have not personally apologised to those affected.

“Senior managers must learn lessons from this and if they don’t then their positions should be questioned.”

The Aberdeen City Council spokesman said: “The council is aware of an error which has resulted in some P11D forms being incorrectly issued. Affected individuals will be notified directly and we apologise to those impacted. The issue is being investigated and measures put in place to ensure it cannot be repeated.”

Council audit convener Stephen Flynn added: “To learn about a data breach of this nature and scale is both incredibly serious and worrying – and those staff involved will be rightly frustrated and concerned.

“Senior council officers have advised me that staff will receive a letter this week with more detail and I have had it confirmed that the matter will be reported to the next audit, risk and scrutiny committee.

“At a time when the council is pressing ahead with its digital agenda it’s absolutely vital that staff, and the public, have confidence in council processes.

“Incidents like this do little to provide assurance and the council needs evidence that safeguards are in place to prevent any repeat in the future.”