Derby City Council has been officially recognised for its hard work to keep residents’ and customers’ data safe.

During a recent routine audit, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) - the Government body which makes sure organisations comply with data protection law - praised the Council for its high assurance ratings in keeping resident’s data secure.

The ICO assesses potential risks to data security and the likely impact, considering an organisation’s structure, concerns raised by the ICO or the Council, and risks which affect the sector more widely.

The recent audit focused on three areas: governance and accountability, cyber security, and personal data breach management and reporting.

Commenting on the personal data breach management and reporting category, the report noted:

Derby City Council has demonstrated a strong communication structure with IG (Information Governance) being communicated through multiple channels with effective messaging. This has led to a strong privacy culture, as demonstrated through staff engagement in drop-in sessions and the volume of queries received by the IG team.

Councillor Kathy Kozlowski, Cabinet Member for Governance and Finance said:

Ensuring that our resident’s and customer’s data is kept safe and secure is very important to us and I’m pleased that the ICO’s recent audit reflects our commitment to excellence in this area.

A big thank you to all our colleagues who work hard to ensure that the appropriate processes and practices are in place and followed correctly. Our teams are reviewing the feedback and looking at areas for further improvement to ensure that we can maintain these high standards.

Our residents can be confident that the information that they share with us is shared in confidence.”

Several recommendations were also made to support the Council to improve their practices. These are being reviewed by the Council’s Information Governance team and will be implemented over the coming months.

The full report is available to view on the Information Commissioner’s Office website.