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Ex-social worker fined for unlawfully disclosing personal data

A former social worker has been prosecuted for passing the personal information of service users to a third party provider for local authority young person placements.

The Information Commissioner’s Office said Leo Kirk unlawfully disclosed referrals for residential or foster placements of vulnerable young people aged 16-18 years old.

It added that the referrals contained sensitive personal data including potential identifier information and vulnerability risks of the service user.

Kirk of Audenshaw, Manchester appeared before Stockport Magistrates’ Court last month and admitted two offences of unlawfully disclosing personal data, in breach of s55 of the Data Protection Act 1998.

He was fined £483 for the first offence with no separate penalty for offence two, he was ordered to pay costs of £364.08 and a victim surcharge of £48.

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