Nottinghamshire County Council has issued an apology following a data breach that exposed personal details of parents and students in an email concerning school bus passes.
The email, sent on Friday, contained the full names and reference numbers of dozens of students, as well as the names and email addresses of other parents and carers. It also detailed individual costs for renewing school transport passes.
A council spokesman confirmed the data breach occurred during a mail merge project for sending reminders about school bus pass payments. An internal investigation determined that the incident met the threshold for notification to the Information Commissioner's Office, and the breach will be reported.
A subsequent email sent later on Friday acknowledged the error, apologised, and stated that an investigation had begun to understand the cause and prevent recurrence. Recipients were asked to delete the initial email and not share its contents.