AN ALLEGED breach of data protection at the borough council could be shaping up to be dismissed.

The data watchdog the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has been conducting an investigation after a complaint over data handling involving Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

The complaint had been classified as 'serious' initially, but, at a meeting of the council's Accounts and Audit Committee on July 30, the subject of the alleged breach came up with it stated the ICO's initial findings were that no 'unlawful access of personal data' had occurred.

A request for an interim letter from the ICO, issued in May ahead of a final verdict which has yet to have been made, to be made available to the committee was turned down 'on legal advice'.

At the meeting, arguing that the committee should see the letter, Labour councillor David Potter said: "The ICO has said that there is no evidence of any personal data having been accessed unlawfully.

"The issue of the sharing of sensitive information may have occurred but it is one for the council to deal with in line with their policies and procedures.

"There is insufficient evidence to substantiate an allegation of a Section 55 offence which would be the only unlawful breach of the DPA (Data Protection Act) in that regard."

Panel chairman Cllr Roger Gardiner said at the meeting he had not seen the letter and Cllr Potter has since clarified he was quoting from the legal advice about the correspondence, not the letter itself.

The content of the letters were not presented to the meeting.

The alleged breach was discussed at a meeting of the same committee earlier this year where councillors were told not to discuss the complaint, with 'strong' legal advice cited as the reason why.

A serious breach is defined as an incident of ‘potential detriment to individuals’ or ‘sensitivity of the data’.

The breach was reported to the ICO on December 12 last year.