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In a new report published on 12 January 2011, Parliamentary Ombudsman Ann Abraham criticises three government agencies for collectively failing to put things right when a data sharing mistake led to a woman’s personal and financial information being wrongfully disclosed to her former partner and her child support payments being reduced without her knowledge.
The report, A Breach of Confidence, is the outcome of the Ombudsman’s investigation of Ms M’s complaint about HM Revenue & Customs, the Child Support Agency and the Department for Work and Pensions, and their handling of her personal information. The chain of events leading up to Ms M’s complaint to the Ombudsman dates back to 2006 when one of the government agencies involved incorrectly updated her records to show her living at her former partner’s address, although she had in fact never lived there.
After discovering her details had been changed, Ms M tried to find out why and sought an assurance they had been corrected. She was passed from one government agency to the next, each denying responsibility. She then took the matter to her MP who subsequently referred it to the Ombudsman.
Source: Parliamentary Ombudsman
