In February 2009 a Manager of Selby Social Services, Children Social Care, was served with a letter re Section 10 of the Data Protection Act 1998 requesting the Local Authority cease processing data, which was both distressing and damaging to a particular family. Section 10 of the DPA clearly states:
10 Right to prevent processing likely to cause damage or distress
(1) Subject to subsection (2), an individual is entitled at any time by notice in writing to a data controller to require the data controller at the end of such period as is reasonable in the circumstances to cease, or not to begin, processing, or processing for a specified purpose or in a specified manner, any personal data in respect of which he is the data subject, on the ground that, for specified reasons—
(a) the processing of those data or their processing for that purpose or in that manner is causing or is likely to cause substantial damage or substantial distress to him or to another, and
(b) that damage or distress is or would be unwarranted.
Once such correspondence has been served upon the Local Authority they then have a timeframe of 21 days in which to respond in writing to the request to cease processing data, as stated in Section 10 (3) of the Data Protection Act 1998:
(3) The data controller must within twenty-one days of receiving a notice under subsection (1) (“the data subject notice”) give the individual who gave it a written notice— .
(a) stating that he has complied or intends to comply with the data subject notice, or .
(b) stating his reasons for regarding the data subject notice as to any extent unjustified and the extent (if any) to which he has complied or intends to comply with it.
Refusing to respond to the letter and continuing to process such data even after a reasonable amount of time has passed is breach of the act, however Selby Children's Social Care conveniently state they lost the S.10 letter, despite it being hand delivered to the manager in question, and that person signed a receipt to state they had received the notice. The processing of distressing and damaging data has continued by Selby Children's Social Care to the present time. It is shocking to think a Local Authority continue to process distressing data for 13 months ago after the family have requested they cease doing so due to the adverse affect this causes them.
However S.10 (4) of the Data Protection Act 1998 goes on to state:
4) If a court is satisfied, on the application of any person who has given a notice under subsection (1) which appears to the court to be justified (or to be justified to any extent), that the data controller in question has failed to comply with the notice, the court may order him to take such steps for complying with the notice (or for complying with it to that extent) as the court thinks fit.
It seems legal action can be taken by the Information Commissioners Office against any authority who refuse to adhere to such notices.
It is without doubt that Selby Children's Social Care have breached Section 10 (1), (3) & (4) of the Data Protection Act 1998.
What a shame such steps have to be taken when over-zealous Local Authorities will stop at nothing and ignore Statutory Laws and Acts to enable them to continue to behave illegally, in a bid to gather potentially damaging information which they wish to utilise in a Family Court Care Proceedings with the sole aim of securing a vulnerable child for forced adoption.
Local Authority's clearly have no regard for the Laws & Acts if this country, nor do they have any regard for the damage and distress they cause to families whilst they pursue performance indicators. It is high time this government and the legal system woke up to the fact that lives are needlessly being systematically destroyed.
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