Data blunder cost £2.25m in postage

Jan 16 2008 by William Green, The Journal

MINISTERS are under fresh fire over 25 million missing personal records after admitting it cost £2.25m to send letters of apology to those affected by the blunder.

The Taxpayers’ Alliance campaign group said the incompetence was staggering and that it was “impossible to make up” the latest revelation surrounding the loss of the data on computer discs from the Washington offices of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) last year.

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats seized on the admission made by Treasury Minister Jane Kennedy in written Commons answers to MPs, saying it just added to the “sorry state of affairs”.

Ms Kennedy, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said: “The cost of sending letters to the families affected by the recent loss of data by HRMC is estimated at £2.25m, including postage costs.” Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “You couldn’t make it up. The incompetence displayed by HMRC and the Government is staggering.

“Not only have the security and savings of millions been put at risk, but the taxpayer has been left to foot a massive bill for botched attempts to limit the damage. The Government clearly cannot be trusted with complex procedures, private data or our money.”

Senior Liberal Democrat Newcastle councillor Greg Stone said: “The whole saga has been a very sorry state of affairs from the Government and clearly this is only adding to the cost to the taxpayer.”

Berwick Tory Parliamentary candidate Anne-Marie Trevelyan also hit out after receiving one of the letters as the mother of two young children. She questioned the letter’s value and added it was “sad” the Government had “thrown money” at the problem once it had arisen rather than prevented it.

But the Treasury and HMRC defended the decision to send the letters as the “right thing to do” to prevent fraud.

“It was an unprecedented loss of data, which we take extremely seriously and it was clearly the right thing to do to communicate individually with those on the discs,” said a HRMC spokesman.

Berwick Lib Dem MP Alan Beith said: “Writing to everyone affected by the data loss at HM Revenue and Customs simply compounded the problem, because the letters sent also contained sensitive information. Aside from the cost involved, if any of these letters have also gone missing, the data relating to the addressees has now been lost twice.”