What is a Local Authority Data Breach?
Local Authorities and Councils by their very nature hold extremely sensitive personal data on their residents and tenants (past and present) including but not limited to:
- Personal details such as name, address, contact details
- Financial information such as bank details
- Complaints history including neighbour disputes
- Social service records
- Civil and criminal record information such as ASBOs
- Adoption process details
- Planning permission applications
If your personal data is breached by the local authority then you should investigate whether you have a data breach claim against them and CEL Solicitors can help. We will provide a free initial consultation discussing all your options and advising you if we consider that you have a claim worth pursuing against your local authority.
How is your Data Breached?
The law ensures that Local Authorities must have watertight safety measures in place to ensure that:
- Your data isn’t breached or compromised
- Your data is obtained and collected lawfully
- Your data is secure from cyber-attacks, cybercriminals and hackers
- Your data is stored and accessed safely
- Staff are trained adequately
- Internal policies and safety measures are also adequate
Is a Local Authority Data Breach Serious?
Yes, local authorities hold very sensitive and personal data and, as such, there should be strict rules and policies in place to hold your data safe from any human error or negligence inside and outside of the local authority. This includes cyber attacks which are on the rise. Research has suggested that 1 in 4 cybercriminal attacks to Councils were successful in breaching data. As such, action must be taken to better safeguard your personal data and information.
At CEL Solicitors we understand that due to the sensitivity of the information breached by your local authority it may cause you distress, upset, embarrassment and or fear to name a few. You may no longer feel safe under that local authority or living where you do. We are here to help you and are trained to deal with sensitive data breaches of this nature and guide you through your claim every step of the way.
Can I Make a Claim?
Yes, its easy and simple to make a claim through CEL Solicitors and speak with our experts and solicitors to get free initial legal advice on whether your data has been breached by your local authority.
CEL Solicitors are one of the biggest Claimant solicitors specialising in Housing Law and have already settled over 1000 cases against local authorities. Combine our extensive experience with local authorities with the fact that CEL Solicitors also specialise in Data Breach and you know you are in safe hands should your data have been breached by your local authority.
By law (GDPR) your Local Authority must inform you if your data has been breached, hacked, compromised or lost and that is the easiest way to know whether you have a claim for data breach against your local authority.
If your data has been breached you do not need to have suffered a financial loss we can still help you to claim compensation for any stress and inconvenience. For example lik to Watford Council data breach.
So if your personal data and information has not been properly protected, you have a right to claim compensation even when you haven’t suffered financially as a result.
CEL Solicitors will provide free initial advice as to whether or not we consider that you have a data breach and we will take the stress away from making a claim by contacting your local authority and holding them accountable by getting you the justice and compensation you deserve. This will also pressure local authorities into improving their internal practices and putting better safety measures in place to ensure that this does not happen again to you or your community.
How much compensation do you get for a Government data breach claim?
You can be awarded data breach compensation for:
- Financial loss
- Breach of data
- Distress and inconvenience
We deal with each case on an individual basis as each case and circumstances are as unique as you. The amount of compensation you may receive will depend on:
- the severity of your circumstances
- the sensitivity of the data
- the amount of financial loss
- the severity of any associated emotional distress caused
- as well as any other relevant factors.
On average at CEL Solicitors our clients receive almost £2,000 for a data breach, which is much higher than the £750 outlined in test law however as stated above this can increase to up to £25,000+ or decrease depending on the individual circumstances of the case and severity of the data breach.
