HM Revenue &
Customsbreached its own regulations three
times between March and October in making available the personal
details of child benefit claimants to theNational Audit
Office.
Chancellor Alistair Darling
told parliament yesterday, "In March of this year it appears
that a junior official within HMRC provided the National Audit
Office with a full copy of HMRC's data in relation to the payment
of child benefit. In doing so it is clear that the strict rules
governing HMRC standing procedures were not followed."
The NAO subsequently returned the data after auditing it. It
then asked for the data again in October. "Again at a junior level
and again contrary to all HMRC standing procedures,
two password-protected discs containing a full copy of HMRC's
entire data in relation to the payment of child benefit was sent to
the NAO, by HMRC's post system operated by the courier TNT. The
package was not recorded or registered. It appears the data has
failed to reach the addressee in the NAO," Darling told
parliament.
Three weeks later the NAO told HMRC that the discs had not
arrived. "A further copy of this data was sent, this time by
registered post, and which did arrive at the NAO. However, again
HMRC should never have let this happen," Darling said.
These breaches come on top of earlier breaches when 15,000 names
and details were lost in the post and an HMRC laptop and other
material containning personal details relating to HMRC customers
was lost. In an interview, Treasury minister Helena Kenndey said it
was one of 41 HMRC laptops stolen in the past year.