In this guide, we will look at the steps you could take if a Liberal Democrats data protection breach were to occur that affected your personal data. There are laws in place that protect your personal data that must be adhered to. We will look at what personal data is and how a breach could occur. This guide will also address the impact that a breach could have.
Liberal Democrats Data Protection Breach – Could I Claim?
Furthermore, this guide will explain how you could benefit from working with a lawyer on your claim and the advantages of No Win No Fee agreements. If you would like an assessment of your claim, and to see if you could be connected with a solicitor, you can:
- Call our advisors for free advice at 0800 073 8801
- Contact us online to request a callback
- Use the ‘live support’ for instant help.
Select A Section
- What Could A Liberal Democrats Breach Of Data Protection Be?
- What Data Could Be Included In A Breach?
- How Could A Data Breach By A Political Party Affect You?
- What Could You Do Following A Breach Of Data Protection?
- What Could You Claim If A Liberal Democrats Data Protection Breach Were To Occur?
- Get Advice On How To Make A No Win No Fee Data Breach Claim
What Could A Liberal Democrats Breach Of Data Protection Be?
Personal data is any data that can be used alongside other details or on its own to identify someone. The Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) are the laws in place that protect personal data and outline how those in control of data should act to protect it.
The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) is an independent organisation that upholds the public’s data rights. They have the power to investigate and sanction those who fail to adhere to these laws.
A personal data breach is defined as a security incident that results in any of the following happening accidentally or unlawfully:
- Personal data being destroyed or lost
- The alteration of personal data
- The unauthorised disclosure of personal data, or access to it by an unauthorised party
Your data might be processed by a data controller (someone who decides how and why your personal data is processed) or a processor (someone who processes data on behalf of the controller); both of these parties have a responsibility towards data subjects (the people to whom personal data relates). Organisations should protect personal data by adhering to the seven key principles of data protection and ensuring that they have a lawful basis for processing personal data.
In order to claim for a data breach, it must have caused you financial and/or emotional harm. If a breach occurred that did not impact you in this way, then you would not be able to claim.
If you would like to find out what steps you could take if a Liberal Democrats data protection breach were to occur, speak with a member of our team today.
What Data Could Be Included In A Breach?
Joining a political party might mean that you provide the political party with a range of different forms of personal data. Personal data :
- Name and address
- Email address and contact number
- Bank details and credit card or debit card information. You might need to provide this so that your membership payment can be taken.
Special category data is a subset of personal data that requires additional protection because of the greater potential it has to cause harm if involved in a breach. This includes personal data relating to:
- Trade Union membership
- Political beliefs
- Sexuality
- Ethnic origin
- Religious beliefs
If you would like to speak with someone on our team about what you could do if a Liberal Democrats data protection breach involving your personal data were to occur, speak with a member of our team today.
How Could A Data Breach By A Political Party Affect You?
If your personal data has been involved in a breach, this could impact you in a number of ways. You could be compensated if a personal data breach has impacted you emotionally, financially or both.
For example, if your bank details or credit card information were exposed in a breach, this could allow someone to take money from your bank account or use credit in your name.
Furthermore, a breach of personal data could also cause you distress and anxiety. For example, if a disciplinary data breach meant that records of an investigation were exposed, then this could cause you distress and embarrassment.
What Could You Do Following A Breach Of Data Protection?
There are several steps you could take if you suspect that your personal data has been involved in a breach. You can approach the organisation that you suspect of being responsible for the breach and ask them to confirm if one has occurred. They should tell you about any breach they’re aware of that impacts your rights and freedoms without undue delay.
The organisation may attempt to resolve the issue with you directly. If you’re offered compensation at the time when you approach the organisation with your concerns, you cannot then make a compensation claim.
If you’re not happy with their response, you can escalate your complaint to the ICO. The ICO cannot award you compensation, but they can investigate the issue on your behalf. You should do this within
If you would like to make a claim, you might benefit from working with a lawyer. To see if you could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel, get in touch with our team today.
What Could You Claim If A Liberal Democrats Breach Of Data Protection Were To Occur?
If you were to claim after a potential Liberal Democrats data protection breach occurred involving your personal data, your settlement could consist of two different kinds of harm. These are material and non-material damage.
Material damage refers to the financial impact of the breach. For example, you could be reimbursed money that has been stolen from your bank account. You could also be reimbursed for loss of earnings if you had to take time off work to cope with the mental or emotional impact of a breach.
You could also be compensated for non-material damage, namely the emotional or psychological impact of a breach. The Judicial College Guidelines is a publication that is also used in personal injury and medical negligence claims to help legal professionals arrive at settlement amounts. You might also be asked to attend a medical assessment to support this head of your claim.
Below, we have included a table containing excerpts from these guidelines. However, these are not guarantees and the amount you actually receive may differ.
Manner of Psychiatric Injury | Judicial College Award Bracket and Severity | Notes |
---|---|---|
Psychiatric Harm | £54,830 to £115,730 – (a) Severe | Problems in factors like ability to cope with work, relationships and education. Poor prospect of recovery. |
£19,070 to £54,830 – (b) Moderately Severe | Significant problems in factors like ability to cope with work, relationships and education but a much better prognosis than above. | |
£5,860 to £19,070 – (c) Moderate | An improvement is made and a good prospect of recovery despite problems with factors like ability to cope with work, relationships and education. | |
£1,540 to £5,860 – (d) Less Severe | How long the disability lasted and the extent to which sleep (for example) was impacted will be taken into account. | |
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | £59,860 to £100,670 – (a) Severe | Permanent negative mental health effects that prevent the person from living life as it was prior to trauma |
£23,150 to £59,860 – Moderately Severe | Significant disability but with a better prospect of some recovery taking place. | |
£8,180 to £23,150 – (c) – Moderate | A largely full recovery is made. Continuing effects aren’t disabling. | |
£3,950 to £8,180 – (d) Less Severe | A total recovery that takes place between 1 – 2 years and any remaining issues persisting beyond this being minor. |
If you have questions about how compensation could be valued after a potential Liberal Democrats data protection breach involving your personal data has harmed you, speak with our team today.
Get Advice On How To Make A No Win No Fee Data Breach Claim
Please contact our team if you have any questions about making a claim after a breach of your personal data has caused you harm. After a brief assessment, they may be able to connect you with a No Win No Fee data breach solicitor to take up your case.
A No Win No Fee solicitor could offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement. With this in place, it generally means that:
- You won’t be asked to pay them upfront or as the process continues
- In the event that your claim is unsuccessful, you won’t pay your lawyer for the services that they’ve provided
- If your claim is a success, you’ll have a success fee deducted from your settlement. This is subject to a legal cap according to the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013
See what options could be available to you if a Liberal Democrats data protection breach were to occur
- Calling us on 0800 073 8801
- Contact us online
- Use the ‘live support’ option
Related Resources
Our guides below offer further reading:
- Claiming after a social services data breach
- Could you claim after an optician data breach?
- Find out more about how a school data breach could occur
We have also included the following resources:
- Learn more about data breach statistics from the government
- Information from the ICO on your right to get your data corrected
- Lastly, some tips on staying safe online from the National Cyber Security Centre
If you have any queries about what steps you could take if a Liberal Democrats data protection breach affecting your personal data were to occur, speak with our team today.
Guide by JJW
Edited by FS