Wolverhampton Completes Training After ICO Investigation

Staff at Wolverhampton City Council have completed data and information protection training after being ordered to do so by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

In June, the local authority was slammed by the ICO for breaching the Data Protection Act and failing to train staff in this area.

The organisation issued Wolverhampton with a 50-day deadline for all members of staff to complete data protection training or it would be treated as contempt of court.

The council announced last week that 5785 employees and all 60 councillors have now completed the course directed by the ICO.

“We are pleased that Wolverhampton has now provided adequate data protection training to all of its staff. It is important that the council maintains these practices going forward to make sure residents’ information is handled correctly and kept secure,” claimed Information Commissioner Christopher Graham.

“People are increasingly aware of the value of their information and the need to keep it secure. This is why it’s important that organisations across both the public and private sectors make sure their practices are up to scratch,” he added.

“Extra Measures In Place”

Wolverhampton claims the ICO was satisfied that the training had been completed and was encouraged by additional measures put in place by the local authority to tighten up data protection procedures.

“Rather than simply getting staff to be trained in data protection, we have taken steps to embed the issue into the culture of the organisation,” claimed the council leader Roger Lawrence.

“The council acknowledges that in the past it has not treated the protection of people’s information as well as it should,” added colleague Keith Ireland, Wolverhampton strategic director for delivery.

“We have ensured that all managers and employees now understand how vitally important data protection is.

“We have got all our workforce and elected members to complete training, we have also ensured that protecting information is at the top of the agenda in team meetings, in briefings with frontline staff, in our internal communications and in our staff inductions,” Ireland claimed.

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