Public Trust takes a hit?

The loss of 25 million peoples personal details by the Revenue and Customs department will no doubt be debated regarding possible fraud, government competence, and even information management issues.

What will also be of concern will be the impact on public trust towards public institutions.

In order for complex societies to function well the public need to have high levels of trust in institutions even if there is greater scepticism nowadays towards some of the individuals or professions (eg politicians) who lead them.

After a summer where there was a positive perception of public institutions responding to a number of crises (flooding, attempted terrorism, foot and mouth etc) polling in the coming months may now show a decline in levels of public trust. This could therefore be a significant new challenge for politicians of all parties. How politicians and senior civil servants handle this issue in the coming days will set the tone for an issue that could have long term impact.