A PUBLIC body has been hauled up over a data breach after sensitive case files involving vulnerable children were found in a discarded filing cabinet in a second-hand furniture shop.

The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) failed to secure the files, which contained detailed information on youngsters’ backgrounds.

Data protection watchdog the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) yesterday revealed that nine case files were left in a filing cabinet which was removed as part of an office refurbishment.

The cabinet was supposed to be destroyed but was instead sold to a second-hand furniture shop with the papers, containing names, dates of birth, social reports and referral decisions relating to children, still inside.

Another case file – which included details relating to the physical abuse of a child – was sent to the wrong email address.

Ken Macdonald, ICO assistant commissioner for Scotland, said: “The fact that sensitive information was mishandled not once but twice by the same organisation is concerning.

“Luckily, on both occasions, the information was not circulated widely.”

The person who bought the cabinet discovered the documents and returned them to the organisation.

The second breach then occurred just four months later when legal papers containing sensitive information about a child’s court hearing were sent to the wrong email address.

The documents included details on physical abuse and included the identities of the child’s mother and witnesses in the case.

A spokesman for the SCRA said: “SCRA is working closely with the ICO and has implemented a number of improvements to our procedures.”

Alison Todd, director of police and practice development at the Scottish children’s charity Children 1st, said: “This case highlights the robust procedures that organisations looking after the welfare of children must have in place to safeguard the people involved.”

Mr Macdonald added that SCRA has now taken steps to help prevent future breaches.