AQW 5235/22-27

Ms Connie Egan
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 25/10/2022
Answered On Date: 08/02/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education whether the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland has informed teachers that their contact details have potentially been leaked following a reported data breach.

Answer:

The data breach which was reported in the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland’s (GTCNI) 2020-21 Annual Report and Accounts occurred in March 2021.

It did not involve the GTCNI’s teacher registration database and was restricted to the release of information on a very small number of teachers (<5) all of whom were immediately informed.

The GTCNI also informed the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who investigated the breach. The ICO concluded that the remedial actions taken by the GTCNI were appropriate and robust and it did not need to take any further action.