Legislation / Legal

ICO: The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has imposed a monetary penalty of £100,000 after the discovery of a large number of patient records at a site formerly owned by Stockport Primary Care Trust.  The ICO’s investigation revealed 2 earlier security incidents where confidential & highly sensitive personal data had been left behind in secure buildings owned by the trust.
Press release & links
 
ICO: The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has served a monetary penalty of £70,000 to Halton Borough Council in Cheshire following a serious breach of the Data Protection Act.   

The breach occurred when a council employee sent a letter about an adopted child to the birth mother, and mistakenly included a covering letter giving details of the adoptive parents’ home address.  The birth mother passed this information to her parents who had been trying to obtain access to their grandchild.  Subsequently they wrote to the adoptive parents seeking contact.
 
The ICO’s investigation concluded that the breach was caused by Halton Borough Council’s underlying failure to have a clear policy & process for checking such correspondence, and relevant training for their staff.
Press release & links
 
HOTwo groups of so-called ‘legal highs’ are to be made illegal for 12 months while government experts assess whether they should be permanently controlled.  Crime Prevention Minister, Jeremy Browne has introduced a Temporary Class Drug Order (TCDO) on new psychoactive (NPS) substances known as ‘NBOMe’ and ‘Benzofury’.
Press release & links
 
MoJSeparating couples will be legally required to find out about ways to settle disputes away from the courtroom, under new laws currently going through Parliament. New figures show that 124,420 couples filed for divorce in 2012, but instead of potentially long & costly court hearings couples opted for mediation – a quicker, cheaper option which provides better outcomes.  

Last year 67%
of all publicly funded couples resolved their concerns out of court with a qualified mediator.
Press release & links
 
MoJ: Anyone thinking of using a Claims management Company to help with a claim can now log on to the Ministry of Justice website and for the first time see exactly what rules the CMCs have breached and the reasons behind the action taken.
Press release & links
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