BY NUALA MCALOON
Environment Minister Arlene Foster has reassured vehicle keepers across the North that due to the limited nature of data on 7,685 missing discs, it was unlikely that people needed to take further action.
In a statement to the Assembly, she said a special helpline had been set up for customers who had any concerns, adding that every vehicle record had been flagged to alert staff in the unlikely event of any attempt being made to misuse the data.
The Minister was making the statement following the revelation that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency had lost the personal details of thousands of people.
The Department of Environment said it was not in a position to release a breakdown of figures for how many people were affected in Fermanagh.
The information lost included the keeper's name and address along with the vehicle details including registration mark, chassis number and the make, model and colour of the vehicle.
"The data on the discs was being sent to DVLA in response to requests from a number of vehicle manufacturers," the Minister said, "who need to contact drivers about faults or potential faults which had been discovered in certain vehicle models.
"The two agencies routinely deal with such 'safety recall' requests and the release of data to manufacturers for this purpose is both lawful and in the best interests of the drivers concerned."
The discs, she continued, were sent using a special courier service operated by Parcelforce Worldwide, part of the Royal Mail Group.
"The packages were collected by pre-arrangement by Parcelforce and were tracked at every stage of handling until they reached the company's central hub in Coventry. There is no record of the packages leaving this depot in Coventry although Parcelforce believe they were dispatched to their Swansea depot but did not arrive there. In spite of extensive searches at the depot, they have not yet been found."
The Minister said the method of sending this type of data had been used without incident for many years and that due to the nature of the data on the discs, encryption was not used.
"An internal review after the Child Benefit discs went missing in GB identified this as a systemic weakness. Unfortunately, this review took place a week after the discs had been sent to DVLA."
The Minister said she regretted that the error had occurred and any inconvenience or concern it had caused to the keepers of the vehicles involved.
"As well as the internal review carried out by the Driver and Vehicle Agency, all issues regarding the handling and transmission of data are being examined urgently as part of the review across all Departments initiated by the Minister Robinson on the security of personal data. I will ensure that all the recommendations which emerge from these reviews are implemented fully and speedily. In addition, the Information Commissioner has been informed and has agreed to carry out an audit of data security in the Driver and Vehicle Agency."
Meanwhile, Brendan Magee, Chief Executive of the Driver and Vehicle Agency said he was deeply disappointed by the incident and understood why customers would be concerned.
He said the Agency had been undertaking a review of how to transmit such information and regretted that this particular incident had taken place before the review was completed.
He acknowledged that the information wasn't encrypted, a problem that had been identified through the review process. As a result, he said, alternative methods of transporting information would now be sought.
