Now here's a story about A4e. It's appeared today on the Plymouth local newspaper site, but happened more than a month ago. A4e has the contract in Plymouth for what used to be called direct payments for social care and is now known as Independent Living Services. Most councils chose to keep this in-house, but A4e won a number of contracts to deliver the service. This story concerns an administrative blunder when a mass email to 157 people included, by mistake, an attachment listing the personal details of service users, i.e. people with disabilities. They've said sorry and done all the necessary things, but the council isn't best pleased, and neither are the service users and their relatives.
It's not the first time A4e has leaked data by mistake.
this mass privatisation of services there is no earthly reason councils and local authorities shouldn't be able to provide themselves makes me so, so sad.
ReplyDeleteA4e have been fined something like 6 hundred thousand pounds was it for a.previous data protection blunder. I would be none too happy if details like my telephone number and information regarding my disability were "made public". Still,I guess they can afford the fine...
ReplyDeleteActually £60k,a different part of A4E,but still a Gov't contract,when we the unemployed make a mistake,we face sanctions,which go into effect and then we can appeal,making a mistake is not accepted as an excuse.Serco has been found to have falsified records regarding the time that they delivered people to courts and have had to pay back the profit they made,and will not be allowed to retain any profits for the remainder of the contract..That is like robbing a Bank,getting caught and having to give back the money,less the expenses it cost you to pull off the job in the first place..This just amazes me!
DeleteOops, sorry I got the figure so wrong. Maybe that career in Banking was a mistake...
DeleteThe ICO will clobber them, as already pointed out, this isn't the first time they've breached data protection legislation.
ReplyDeleteSo what?
DeleteTheir government contracts are the gift that keeps giving; they'll pay a fine and carry on because nothing will be done to properly put these useless twits out to pasture for good.
A4e had a 2.1 million pound operating loss, the previous year they had a 15.1 million pound profit. I think that combined with any (possible) data protection fine and the fact we still await news regarding sanctions and fraud allegations mean I will certainly watching a4e. Well done for running this site.
DeleteYou must ask yourself?? At the start of the WP,with all those attachment fees,suddenly they have a windfall and pay a large dividend,the following year a loss and failed to meet the contract minimums,call me Paranoid,but this seems like away to protect and keep assets in case the DWP finally has the B@lls to cancel the contracts.
DeleteAttachment fees are to reduce to zero in year 4 of the WP so the writing may be on the wall.
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