The blundering DWP yesterday shared the email addresses of all the attendees of the first Pathways to Work Green Paper virtual consultation event in a very basic breach of data confidentiality.

An email sent out to all attendees on Thursday provided a link to the Teams meeting for the first virtual consultation event, due to take place on 6 May.  However, it included all the email addresses of the participants in the ‘To’ section of the email.

These included 26 members of the public, 10 representatives of local authority and voluntary sector organisations and 19 staff working for the DWP.

An attachment with the email even set out which of the DWP staff were ‘required’ participants, which were ‘optional’ and detailed which section of the DWP they work in, such as, corporate support and development, occupational psychology, private pensions, labour market directorate, disability and health, customer experience.

A few hours later, the DWP sent participants another email stating:

“Apologies for the Teams invite that was shared, there was a technical difficulty. The previously scheduled Teams meeting has now been cancelled, and a new meeting invitation will be shared with you shortly.

“In the meantime, if you would like us to use a different email address for the updated invitation, please reply to this email by 02/05/2025.”

As an apology for a serious breach of confidentiality it stopped short of being fulsome.  In fact it stopped short of admitting what had happened and apologising for it at all.

Benefits and Work understands that the breach has already been reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Meanwhile participants are still waiting for another invitation to the virtual event, which is due to consider “Reforming the structure of the health and disability benefits system”.

Attendees at the other Green Paper consultation events, which include in-person events so secret no-one – including the participants - knows where they are happening, will be hoping the DWP manages their confidential data a little more professionally.

Comments

Write comments...
or post as a guest
People in conversation:
Loading comment... The comment will be refreshed after 00:00.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 2 hours ago
    BBC reporting that Labour MPs are saying planned welfare cuts are a big reason they’ve done so badly in local elections. Labour are “not Labour enough’

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8jdr900r7o


  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 2 hours ago
    The Labour Party will certainly become extinct due to the policies of Mr Starmer and his team, who, with their policies, are leading poor and middle-class society to disaster, more than the hardline Conservatives.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 4 hours ago
    Just maybe a slow but sure building of against cuts to these inhumane disabiliy cuts hopefully in the next couple of weeks or next month we will see more political clot against cuts and charities on board a bit more with clat and human rights 
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 4 hours ago
    "...26 members of the public..."

    Is that it?

    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      · 1 hours ago
      @WorkshyLayabout WorkshyLayabout, and they weren't even real members of the public, just plants from various government offices - interns, tea trolley operatives, wardrobe, makeup etc - ask @Sam, they're everywhere. 


  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 4 hours ago
    I said yesterday as did Mick to slb who has unfortunately had her data breached by this absolute incompetence. 

    Surely the ICO will have to ENSURE that there is MORE to be done about this data breach.

    Unless it was accidental/on purpose! 

    As NOW it has culminated in that virtual meeting being postponed! HOW VERY BLOODY CONVENIENT!

    I hope there is some sort of compensation that can be sought for this breach whereby it hits them in their pockets as they are punching the life out of our pockets as well as our health. 

    4 Points for being shameless incompetent idiots. I SWEAR TO GOD I COULD EXPLODE! can this get any more unlawful? 

    No one takes confidentiality seriously anymore! Anyone who deals with our data on a daily basis when we are sick and disabled do NOT give a damn about our private medical history. 

    Once AGAIN unlawful acts NOT being made to fully accountable for what they have done.

    You could NOT write the script!



  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 4 hours ago
    it just proves that the DWP are not capable of organising a piss up in a brewery !
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 5 hours ago
    "Henry Zeffman, chief political correspondent of the BBC reports, one Labour campaigner in Runcorn and Helsby said: “On every door it was the same story - winter fuel and PIP.” PIP is personal independence payment, the support given to disabled people which Labour has decided to confiscate from so many, leading to a predicted surge in poverty of 400,000."

    So we have one slice of information that going after the vulnerable is politically toxic but will Labour change course?
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      · 1 hours ago
      @Dave Dee "On every door", that's what matters.
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      · 1 hours ago
      @DJ Further and faster @DJ, not full speed ahead, further and faster 😉
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      · 4 hours ago
      @Dave Dee Hi Dave Dee

      It is 'politically' toxic but they do NOT give a damn. Indeed it is more than that. Historically, I would have said that is 'Political Suicide'. However, they just keep shaking it off. Still keep going full speed ahead. 

      There are some labour MP's who are absolutely horrified by these cuts.  Labour MP's are resigning from the Labour Party for what  Labour are doing. Stating that is NOT what Labour government means for them.

      I think it would be a miracle if it now was to change course. In order to see the exceptional harm that this is going to cause you would have to be Humane but they are NOT
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 5 hours ago
    Thanks, B&W team.

    This is typical of DWP. It's a common internal issue of staff not taking confidentiality seriously.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 6 hours ago
    The outlook for politics in the UK becomes bleaker by the day. I think we’re now officially going down the MAGA/DOGE route. It is thoroughly depressing and the Tories AND Labour have nobody but themselves to blame. I’m glad to be in my 60’s and childless because the future look very dystopian indeed. The climate crisis, together with populism and  big tech authoritarianism coming at us at a pace all adds up to a future nightmare. Apologies if this brings anyone down. I hope I’m wrong.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 7 hours ago
    More info

    A new petition backed by disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) aims to unite opposition to the government’s “devastating” disability benefit cuts and reforms by calling for every one of the measures to be abandoned

  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 7 hours ago
    There are no coincidences just aggravated collusions .
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 8 hours ago
    And now at 3.30 on the last working day before the meeting, we still haven't had the info for the revised meeting!
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 9 hours ago
    Reform are the winners of the local election and Labour are not looked at fondly, they've held on to seats be it mayoral or local but the voters are punishing Labour and it's down to many issues.

    What puzzles me is that many people who are voting for Reform are on the state pension or other in or out of work benefits, Nigel Farage in his heart is a Thatcherite. I think the British electorate wants a solid welfare state but want stronger border controls, the Social Democrats in Denmark have done this well so it can be done.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 9 hours ago
    We love disabled people so much, we're so good at all this that we are advising and enforcing other employers to be disability friendly, we're a disability confident employer so that proves we are brilliant and oh so good to disabled people and staff blah blah blah...  No DWP, you are despicable!!

    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      · 4 hours ago
      @Mick Disability Confident. That contemptuous dispicable label that absolutely any employer can get for doing the absolute least for disabled staff.  
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 10 hours ago
    Accidentally on purpose.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 11 hours ago
    “Reforming the structure of the health and disability benefits system” - they should be able to wrap that up in half an hour, if they even have the meeting. Then they'll use it as an excuse (ie they've done a consultation) to implement whatever hastily drawn up measures they like. Box ticked.

    Ten minutes left over to reshape the NHS. Pub.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    · 12 hours ago
    Is it bad that I'm thinking those DWP staff are plants? Would they have declared themselves?
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      · 4 hours ago
      @rtbcpart2 Lol true, I woukdnt trust the DWP if they told me water is wet!
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      · 5 hours ago
      @Sam I'm not going to say you don't have a right to be suspicious but - at the same time - it's no secret that there have been whistleblowers from DWP that are disgruntled with the way things are handled and have sought to help claimants navigate the system.

      Of course, this all depends on what exact purpose these DWP staff have for attending but say they're there to advocate for us and explain why the process is unfair as it is and any further tightening on the rules will hurt more of the genuinely disabled, I'd say those who have first-hand experience as assessors or whatever will have the credentials to be taken seriously.

      As for the question as to why they didn't declare themselves: I don't feel it's a good idea to potentially speak out against policies your employer intends to implement as part of your job and attach your name to it so that a paper trial can be tied back to you but perhaps that's just me.
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      · 11 hours ago
      @Sam 😂😂😂 oh, @Sam, it's not bad, it's an indication of the paranoia to which we're being driven. They're venus fly traps.
We use cookies

We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential for the operation of the site, while others help us to improve this site and the user experience (tracking cookies). You can decide for yourself whether you want to allow cookies or not. Please note that if you reject them, you may not be able to use all the functionalities of the site.