HMRC admits lost discs were part of 'systemic failure'

Dave Hartnett admits to MPs on Treasury Select Committee that there have been seven instances of lost data since merger of Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise

Written by Penny Sukhraj

Accountancy Age, 06 Dec 2007

Government has admitted that the loss of computer discs with the details of 25 million claimants is part of wider systemic failure within HM Revenue & Customs.

Acting head of the department, Dave Hartnett, told a Treasury Select Committee yesterday that there had already been seven instances of data loss ‘of some significance’ since the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise merged in 2005.

Hartnett’s admission contradicts earlier comments by chancellor Alistair Darling who said the incident was isolated.

HMRC also revealed that the cost of stripping the data of personal details, before it could be sent to the National Audit Office, would have cost less than £50,000.

Further reading:

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