Data Protection
Case reference FOI2023/00356
Published 9 March 2023
Request
I would like to make a formal request under the freedom of information act 2000 .
To clarify this matter will you kindly provide me with all the information the council holds, amongst all its guidance and procedures dealing with the duty of client/ customer confidentiality, that state that their overriding duty as to confidentiality maybe disregarded if such information is 'already in the public domain'.
Will you also provide full details of any guidance as to what factors should be considered before taking the presumably serious step of disregarding the overriding duty of confidentiality.
Does any such guidance include advice about, for example, whether the confidential information disclosure is, in the council's interest or in the interest of the general public, whether the information is prominent in the public domain or tucked away in far flung depths never likely to be visited by the general public.
Response
Herefordshire Council's Data Protection Policy and Information Security Policy detail the responsibilities of staff when handling personal and sensitive information. These are available on our website:
https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/directory-record/3584/data-protection-policy
https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/directory-record/4801/information-security-policy
Staff are also able to refer to guidance on the Information Commissioners Website. Guidance around data breaches and what to consider when assessing data breaches is available via the link below:
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/report-a-breach/personal-data-breach/
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.