This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/8153754.stm

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
£5,000 fine over worker blacklist Firms vetted workers on blacklist
(about 3 hours later)
A businessman who ran a secret list of construction workers which was offered to leading building companies has been fined £5,000 by a judge in Cheshire. Some of Britain's leading construction firms subscribed to a secret blacklist of workers which prevented them from getting jobs, a court has heard.
Ian Kerr, 66, of Avoncroft Road, Stoke Heath, Worcestershire, had pleaded guilty to offences under the Data Protection Act at a previous hearing. More than 40 firms used the database of 3,213 workers to vet employees, which was run by businessman Ian Kerr, Knutsford Crown Court was told.
Highly sensitive and personal details on more than 3,200 people were kept on the list and offered to about 40 firms. Kerr, 66, of Avoncroft Road, Stoke Heath, Worcestershire, has been fined £5,000 for administrating the list.
Building workers criticised the sentence at Knutsford Crown Court. He pleaded guilty in May to breaching the Data Protection Act.
Knowledge of the list emerged in March when officials from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) visited the offices of the Consulting Association, in Droitwich, Worcestershire.
Kerr was one of four employees at the association, which was described in court as a construction trade association.
This information was to be used covertly John Wyn Williams, prosecuting
John Wyn Williams, prosecuting for the ICO, told the hearing on Thursday that the body was funded by construction companies from across the UK.
"It would collate and provide information to construction companies in relation to individuals seeking employment in that industry," said Mr Wyn Williams
The database included names, dates of birth, national insurance numbers and "conduct which may impact on an individual's chances for further employment", he added.
"This information was to be used covertly. Individuals on the database were not aware of it and could not challenge the accuracy of the information," Mr Wyn Williams told the court.
The ICO said it believed Kerr ran the blacklist for up to 15 years.
It has named around 40 companies which were subscribers to the database, including Amec Construction, Balfour Beatty and Morgan Est.
Its accounts showed that between 2004 and March 2009, when it ceased trading, about £478,000 was paid to the organisation by various firms.