Secret files on care kids found in Wolverhampton garden shed

Sep 6 2009 by Paul Cole, Sunday Mercury

SENSITIVE information on vulnerable children in social services’ care was found in a Midland garden shed by a builder, it emerged last night.

The confidential information is believed to have included private and personal case files of hundreds of children who were held in care in the Black Country.

Sensitive files had been hoarded by the former owner of Coalway Road children’s home in Wolverhampton, according to a group set up to ensure the safety of children.

After the home was closed and all the children left earlier this year, the information was left in a shed behind the property.

It represents a serious breach of statutory rules that require all such files to be held secure for 75 years.

Last night Wolverhampton City Council admitted the data protection blunder was a “matter of serious concern” and Ofsted revealed that it is investigating the former children’s home.

The files were uncovered by a builder who had been brought in to renovate the former children’s home, which housed scores of youngsters in the care of a number of councils for years.

The Wolverhampton Safeguarding Children Board report states: “The house had been repossessed by the landlord and was due for refurbishment.

“The vacant property had a number of rooms, including a locked shed with confidential material relating to children and young people who had been looked after by the children’s home.

“The builder was concerned at the amount of confidential data in the building.”