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Plymouth City Council Apologises After Breaching Data Of 500 Families

www.plymouthplus.co.uk • June 12, 2026

Plymouth City Council has apologised after breaching the personal data of around 500 families.

Plymouth Plus can reveal that the council sent an email to hundreds of families without taking any steps to avoid the unlawful disclosure of their email addresses.

The email was sent by the Elective Education department containing guidance ahead of upcoming changes to legislation.

A human error in not using the blind copy function (BCC) led to the data breach, which has been reported to the Information Commissioner's Office.

The council has now apologised. A spokesperson for Plymouth City Council told Plymouth Plus:

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Plymouth City Council Exposes Email Addresses of 500 Families in Data Breach Plymouth City Council mistakenly revealed the email addresses of approximately 500 families in a mass email due to human error. The email, sent by the Elective Education team, was intended to inform families about upcoming legislative changes but failed to use the BCC function. This incident follows a similar breach by City of York Council, highlighting ongoing issues with email privacy in public sector communications. The council has since apologized and reported the incident to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which closed the case after providing data protection advice. The council has committed to implementing additional checks to prevent future occurrences. While no sensitive personal information was disclosed, the incident serves as a reminder of the risks associated with basic email functionalities. 2 sources 25

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Plymouth City Council Apologises After Breaching Data Of 500 Families

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