The ICO has agreed to reduce the Monetary Penalty Notice which it imposed on the Cabinet Office in 2021from £500,000 to just £50,000. The fine stems from a New Year’s Honours data breach, which led to the disclosure of the postal addresses of more than 1,000 recipients of 2020 New Year honours.
The ICO had previously signposted a new approach to working more effectively with public authorities, arguing that in some cases large fines to public sector organisations may not be as effective a deterrent. This coincides with a seeming move more to sharing lessons learnt and good practice.
You can read the full statement from the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2022/11/ico-and-cabinet-office-reach-agreement-on-new-year-honours-data-breach-fine/