Government admits to losing three million DVLA records

Still reeling from the loss of sensitive consumer financial data by HM Revenue and Customs, the government late yesterday was forced into another embarrassing admission that a government department had lost control of a further three million consumer data records.

The data loss, which first came to light in May, but has only been publicly confirmed now, came from the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency), which is headquartered in Swansea, and related to learner drivers applying for driving tests, and is believed to have been misplaced by a third party IT contractor.

The revelation comes weeks after the government admitted it had lost computer discs containing the names and bank account details of 25 million people, exposing nearly half the population to possible fraud and identity theft.

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly told parliament a private contractor reported in May that a hard disc drive had gone missing from a US data storage facility in Iowa.

It contained the names, addresses and other details of more than three million candidates for the driving theory test. theory test taken by learner drivers in Britain. Kelly added that the drive did not contain any bank account or credit card data.

"I apologise for any uncertainty or concern that these individuals may experience," she said.

Kelly also revealed that two discs containing the details of 7,500 vehicles and the names and addresses of their owners had been lost in transit.

She announced steps to tighten up the security of personal data held by government agencies.

Conservative transport spokeswoman Theresa Villiers said the loss was "further evidence of systemic failure in the government's handling of private data, evidence of a basic lack of competence by this government."

"Quite simply the government is failing in its duty to obey its own laws on data protection," she said.

The data losses suffered by the government departments has done little to help Labour's standing in the polls, with data from YouGov showing the Tories holding a 13 per cent lead.

Finance minister Alistair Darling told parliament earlier there was no sign that the discs containing the details of 25 million people had fallen into criminal hands.

* Norwich Union fined for data loss - click here to read.

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