The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has found the Lancashire County Council in breach of the Data Protection Act following an incident involving the disposal of a filing cabinet containing confidential documents, the Lancashire Telegraph reports. The documents, which were found in a cabinet purchased from a second-hand shop, included information on residents' ethnicity, religious beliefs and health conditions. The council has pledged to implement a formal procedure to avoid such incidents in the future while providing staff training on the proper storage, use and disposal of personal information. "This incident highlights the importance of having the necessary safeguards in place to ensure personal information is disposed of securely," says Sally-Anne Poole, head of enforcement at the ICO.
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