Sensitive papers removed from skip

The skip has been earmarked to store sensitive documents which are among thousands of boxes of records being shipped out of one of York Council’s former buildings as part of its move to a new multi-million pound headquarters. But a pile of highly confidential papers relating to nearly 50 residents was removed and passed to a local newspaper in York, council bosses said yesterday.

About 80 documents were taken containing names, phone numbers, dates of birth, National Insurance numbers and past convictions.

They included a housing application form completed on behalf of a convicted murderer who wanted to move to the city.

There were also copies of emails about criminal convictions, the risks which individuals may pose and their behaviour, legal letters, how much benefits individuals were claiming, and demands for unpaid council tax.

There was even a bank statement, photocopies of a National Insurance card and passport and reports on the behaviour of people applying for council houses.

The material was supposed to be secure in the skip outside the St Leonard’s Place offices.

York Council’s director of customer and business support services, Ian Floyd, denied claims the documents had been removed while the skip was uncovered and they had been left behind when the container was taken away. However, he confirmed the council had been a “victim of malicious intent with an isolated security breach” earlier this month.

Mr Floyd added: “We have already notified the residents affected and we are entering into a full investigation into this incident with the police, alongside Yorwaste and Yorkcraft (which are involved in disposing of the waste paper).

“We will be checking CCTV footage thoroughly as part of this. We have reported the incident to the Information Commissioner and have increased security measures at all of our sites. Remaining staff across all of our sites are being asked to be extra vigilant with this incident in mind.”

More than 3,000 boxes of paperwork have been removed from the five offices which the authority has vacated so far in the move to its new headquarters, which is due to be completed next month.

Mr Floyd was adamant that all paper records were being dealt with as if they were confidential, and added: “These are either retained securely, if the records are still required to be kept, or disposed of in a manner that protects the information.”

The skip outside the council’s offices in St Leonard’s Place is a confidential waste container, and Mr Floyd stressed that it is “manned or secured at all times”.

The council’s new complex is in the city’s 1840s railway station, and it took 20 months to transform the Grade II* listed building into the new £32m offices. The relocation’s overall cost is expected to cost £44m.

The move to West Offices will reduce the number of its buildings from 17 to just two.

The council has been paying crippling £1m-a-year rents with its operations scattered across the city. The money used to rent buildings will be ploughed into repaying the cost of the relocation.