Explains your rights to see and have copies of your personal information, and how to complain if access to your records is refused or if what is written about you is wrong.
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This page covers the following information about accessing your personal records:
To get copies of your records from an organisation, you almost always need to make a request in writing. This is called a subject access request (SAR).
A subject access request can be:
When preparing your subject access request, make sure to:
After preparing your subject access request, you could:
Under equality law, organisations have a legal duty to make their services accessible. Your mental health problem might make it impossible, or unreasonably difficult, for you to make a request in writing. In this case, an organisation may have to make a reasonable adjustment to its normal data protection policy.
Organisations have one calendar month to respond to your subject access request, starting from the day they receive it.
If the organisation thinks that your request is very complicated, then it can extend this period to three months. In this case, they must write to you to explain why the extension is necessary.
The organisation can pause the one-month response period if they need to:
Organisations are not allowed to charge a fee for supplying your data unless your request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.
If an organisation decides it is appropriate to charge you for an excessive request, the amount must be based on how much it will cost them to fulfil your request.
Tip: If you can send appropriate proof of identity at the same time as making your request, it should make the process quicker.
Audrey experiences severe anxiety and depression. She also has a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.
For some years now, Audrey has received support from social services with daily living tasks, including bathing, managing her money and getting out and about in the community.
Her package of care has recently been cut by social services. Audrey has an advocate who is going to assist her with making a complaint about this.
The advocate has suggested that it would be a good idea for Audrey to get copies of her social services records. Audrey has received support from social services for the past 15 years, so her records are likely to be extensive.
The decision to cut her care package was made six weeks ago. Audrey will need to see the records that relate to this decision. As well as this, there will probably be relevant records from before the date of the decision. However, she is unlikely to need copies of her social services records in their entirety.
Audrey could make a request for copies of her social service records from the past six months. She may not need to provide proof of identity if she makes the request to her social worker, as her social worker knows her well.
An advocate is a person who can both listen to you and speak for you in times of need. Having an advocate can be helpful in situations where you are finding it difficult to make your views known, or to make people listen to them and take them into account.
See our pages on advocacy for more information.
Visit our full listing of Legal TermsThis is a written request to an organisation asking for details of the personal information they hold about you.
See our pages on accessing my personal information to find out more.
Visit our full listing of Legal TermsThese are changes that:
should make for you if you are at a major disadvantage because of your mental health problems and it is reasonable.
Examples of reasonable adjustments include:
The Equality Act 2010 is the law that protects you from discrimination and gives you the right to challenge it.
See our pages on disability discrimination for more information.
Visit our full listing of Legal TermsThe Data Protection Act 2018 is the law that sets out how organisations must handle and process your information. It also gives you rights to access and correct personal information held about you.
Visit our full listing of Legal TermsThis information was published in November 2021. We will revise it in 2024.
References are available on request. If you would like to reproduce any of this information, see our page on permissions and licensing.