Renfrewshire Council has introduced secure document boxes in adult services vehicles following an internal audit which examined how confidential paperwork was being protected while staff worked in the community.
The issue was discussed at a meeting of the council’s Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board.
The review looked specifically at adult services staff working in the field and how documents containing personal information were safeguarded during community visits.
Councillor Janis MacDonald raised concerns about the security of documents and asked how widely the risks would be assessed.
Councillor Gillian Graham also questioned whether secure boxes had now been rolled out and what safeguards were in place.
The board was told that document boxes had been installed in vehicles used by adult services.
Lisa Cameron confirmed the measure had been introduced and staff had received training.
She explained that the council’s responder service moves directly between calls, meaning staff cannot return paperwork to an office following every visit without potentially delaying their response to people requiring assistance.
She said: “The difficulty we have is with our responder service. They go from call to call to call, so if I was to bring them back to the office to bring that documentation after every call, then that would prevent them from getting to people at points of emergency or respondence, so we had to think of the best way to keep that documentation confidential in the short term.”
Documents are returned to the office and uploaded to the council’s system as quickly as possible.
The council is also working on an app which could reduce the amount of paperwork required by the service.
Ms Cameron added: “We are working on an app to try to prevent the documentation as much as we can, but right now that is the best way to keep things safe.”
Guidance on storing and using documents containing personal information is also available to council staff.