Update following emails from Swale Heating on 1 October
West Kent staff were made aware on Saturday (1 October) that Swale Heating had emailed a number of West Kent residents on Friday with a link to sign up to its customer portal.
We take data protection very seriously and colleagues from across West Kent have investigated this report with Swale Heating and found that the emails were generated and sent in error by Swale, following a system upgrade.
We know this may have been worrying for some residents, as they did not know Swale Heating provided a service for West Kent and some were concerned about the security of their personal data.
Based on the investigation, it has been concluded that there was not a breach of data protection regulations. The personal data of residents remains secure, and staff will be reviewing internal processes to ensure that this situation does not arise in the future.
There is no risk to resident’s data. However, we have informed the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) of our investigation to ensure full transparency and accountability.
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