Can you trust the authorities with your details?
Yesterday's revelation that HM Revenue and Customs inadvertently sent out the private financial details of 50,000 tax credit claimants is a major blow to not only HM Revenue and Customs but the confidence which consumers have in the system. This is not the first time that private details have been inadvertently leaked into the public domain although unfortunately it does appear in many cases that lessons have not been learned.
It will be interesting to see how the various regulatory authorities tackle this particular issue because we have seen a number of private companies severely fined in similar circumstances. When you also consider the billions upon billions of pounds which have been spent on government computer systems, yet apparently many of these do not appear to be linked together, it does start to become a major concern. While there is no doubt that the massive volume of claims does have an impact upon the efficiency of various departments such as HM Revenue and Customs, there are fears this could get worse in the short term with public-sector spending cuts set to be announced over the coming weeks and months.
Will we be in a more difficult situation this time next year with less money to spend on the benefits system and potentially less staff?
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