Charity shreds 'irreplaceable' adoption files to save space

A charity has apologised for the "inexcusable" destruction of around 4,800 personal records linked to adoptions in Scotland, including irreplaceable photographs and handwritten letters from birth parents.

Edinburgh-based Birthlink has been fined £18,000 after shredding the files to free up space in its filing cabinets four years ago.

The Information Commissioners' Office (ICO), which imposed the fine, described the lost material as "deeply personal pieces in the jigsaw of a person's history, some now lost for eternity".

The charity's board said it was "deeply sorry" and that it was impossible to say how many people were affected.

A statement added: "We want to assure everyone who's interacted with Birthlink that we will do everything in our power to ensure this does not happen again."

A spokesperson for the Movement for Adoption Apology Scotland campaign said: "These items weren't stored out of administrative duty, but held in the hope that one day, someone would come looking.

"That hope has now been shredded, quite literally."

Birthlink did not keep a log of what was destroyed but it believes only "a very small proportion" of the records included personal documents, which do not exist in any form elsewhere.

Files destroyed

Since 1984, the company has operated the Adoption Contact Register for Scotland.

It enables adopted people, birth parents and others to register their details with a view to being "linked" and potentially reunited.

If a connection was made, Birthlink retained what were called "linked records" - closed paper files stored in filing cabinets - in case they could be of further use in the future.

But by January 2021, the charity was running out of space and reviewed whether it could destroy the files.

Following a board meeting, it was agreed that only replaceable records could be disposed of.

Birthlink shredded about 4,800 personal records in 2021 (file photo)

A few months later, the contents of 24 filing cabinet drawers were bagged up and shredded.

Birthlink has estimated that personal data from around 4,800 individuals was destroyed and that less than 10% of the lost files contained "cherished items".

These include photographs, handwritten letters from birth mothers and fathers to their children and handwritten letters from birth families to siblings.

Another 8,300 files survived the process unscathed.

The culling of the records only came to light two years later, after the Care Inspectorate carried out a short-notice inspection at Birthlink in September 2023.

An internal investigation, ordered by Birthlink's interim chief executive, found that a member of staff had expressed concern about shredding photographs and other records at the time.

But they were told "it needed to be done".

Birthlink reported itself to the ICO, who said the charity could have prevented the destruction with "cost effective and easy to implement" policies and procedures.

The regulator imposed a £45,000 fine, later reduced to £18,000, to promote compliance with data protection and deter others from "making similar mistakes".

'Poor understanding'

Sally Anne Poole, the ICO's head of investigations, said: "The destroyed records had the potential to be an unknown memory, an identity, a sense of belonging, answers.

"It is inconceivable to think, due to the very nature of its work, that Birthlink had such a poor understanding of both its data protection and records management process."

The ICO welcomed the steps taken by Birthlink to ensure it does not happen again, including new policies and the appointment of a data protection officer.

In 2023, the then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon apologised to people affected by forced adoption

Birthlink's interim CEO Abbi Jackson told BBC Scotland News that the charity mainly worked with people affected by "historic forced adoption" between 1930 and 1980.

She said: "We want to reiterate our deepest and most sincere regret that this happened.

"We have failed people who put their trust in us. We want to urge anyone who thinks they should have had information on file to phone our helpline.

"We have a number of very experienced, knowledgeable staff who're there to help on each individual case."

In 2023, the then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon issued a "sincere, heartfelt and unreserved" apology to people affected by the practice of forced adoption.

The Movement for Adoption Apology Scotland campaign said: "The emotional and historical significance of what was lost cannot be overstated.

"These were not administrative items, but the last remaining traces of relationships shattered by policies and practices that many now acknowledge as unjust and highly traumatising."

Anyone worried about the loss of personal information can contact Birthlink's support service through [e-mail]