A mother and daughter duo have won a £2,500 payout from Perth and Kinross Council after it admitted a data breach.
Staff at Kinross High School illegally disclosed details about Emma Rose to an estranged relative on three occasions, despite her being an adult.
Emma had returned to the school for a seventh year in order to complete extra qualifications so she could go on to study to become a vet.
The data released included incorrect information about how many hours Emma was studying at school, causing problems for Emma’s mum Julie in relation to child support.
Julie then faced a tribunal with the Department for Work and Pensions over a claim of fraud because of the details provided by the school.
Documents released as part of the tribunal allowed Julie to spot the data breach and the council’s error.
After a complaint, officials at the council admitted staff at the school disclosed information about what Emma was studying and when without permission, breaching data protection law.
A letter sent to Julie admitting the breach said: “As Emma was an adult and not a pupil of the school at the time of the correspondence, no details about her should have been disclosed to a third party in this way.
“I would like to extend the council’s apologies to Emma for this data breach, which I know caused her distress.
Council apology over Kinross High data breach
“The procedures which the council has in place to ensure the security of personal information were regrettably not followed on this occasion.”
The mistake was costly for Perth and Kinross Council, with Emma receiving £1,500 in compensation while Julie was awarded £1,000 in compensation.
A council spokesperson said: “We wholeheartedly apologised to both Julie and Emma for the breakdown in our procedures which allowed for the data breach to happen at the time and offer our apologies again.
“We continue to review, update our procedures and provide staff training in relation to such matters.”
