How stupid do they think we actually are?

Throw the bastards in jail if they give/sell/loose our data

And they think we trust them with the ID cards?

...where does the money to pay the fines come from...

..and go to for that matter...

I think the snake might have just swalloed its tail.

Remind me - who pays if my council gets fined? Oh that's right - it's me; or I suffer by loss of service. It's about time that the penalties were aimed at those who transgressed the law; that way it might focus minds so it is the real perpetrators who pay the consequences. In the case of fines against a company, then it's the shareholders who get hit who can take it out on the board. If it's a public body, especially an unelected one, it just makes work for lawyers and accountants and the rest of us get stuck with the costs.

The Information Commissioner is currently investigating how my own data was provided to an Organisation that was content to confirm its source in writing as the Voters Register. That's despite my having an X for "no publicity" since the option was provided.

How much security is that and how will it improve if these suggested changes come about?

Is it really wrong to fine the Council? Not if it is the full amount obtained by selling data, surely? Zero cost to Taxpayers.

Write the Council Chief's Terms of Employment to require P45 and loss of accrued pension on data security failures.

Civil Servants used to sign letters as "Your Humble and Obedient Servant". They are the Masters now.

Don't even start me on the Planning Department !!

The fines are for PRIVATE SECTOR companies.

Do you actually read the entire article, or only those words containing less than 5 letters? ...and then jump on the bandwagon of another who bashes gov't?

For government organizations: Responsible individuals at least are fired. Many countries are passing laws which will land offenders in jail as well as compensation. So you may not get the governement entity, you can at least get the person who didn't meet compliance.

With the many options for encrypting data at rest at affordable prices, there really isn't any excuse. However, no matter how idiot proof you make something... someone will find a way to build a better idiot.

"Is it really wrong to fine the Council? Not if it is the full amount obtained by selling data, surely? Zero cost to Taxpayers"

Uhm - so the damage has been done to me by my data having been sold yet I still don't get the benefit in reduced council charges or improved services? Perhaps they could pay this fine that magically matches the sum earned straight to me.

There's also the little point that fines and other criminal sanctions are meant to cause some inconvenience to the miscreant. It's not meant to be something that just nullifies the amount earned by the misdemeanor. Those who cheat on their tax bills have to pay the missing tax and a fine on top. Tjhose who don't buy a TV license still have to buy a license, but they pay a fine on top.

I have a better idea - why not make part of any senior manager's salary liable to a deduction for such offences up to a certain limit (I'm not vindicitve). A level of group responsibility would be involved here, and some would lose out if the failure was in another part of the organisation. That might sound unfair, but no less so than those that see the value of their shareholding decrease due to a corporate fine even though they, personally, had nothing to do with the action in question. However, what such group responsibility does do is focus minds - shareholders who would lose all their investment if an airline had a poor safety record are going to make sure that is sorted out. The same with group responsibility for senior enough managers in public bodies.

Nb. I've no problem with senior managers in private companies being so treated as an alternative to the shareholder picking up the bills.

I'll tell you what happens when you fine a government department. Each department has its own annual budget, set by the Treasury. The fines come out of this. They cannot just reach into the "public purse" and grab the cash. They do not get an extra allowance to cover the fine, either in the current financial year or the next financial year. While it would not be impossible to divert more funds to them, this would be a naughty and underhanded action, and would cause a rash of senior refusals-to-resign if it came to light.

So the department has to tighten its belt and make cuts. Sometimes this produces a reduction in headcount, but I don't think that these were the sort of sackings that previous commenters were calling for.