Access to Personal Information

The Data Protection Act 1998 gives all individuals a general right of access to the personal data which is held about them either on computer, or in a relevant manual filing system. These rights are known as “subject access rights”.

The Act requires that we comply with the rules of good information handling practice which are commonly known as the 8 data protection principles.

Schools Fair Processing Notices

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What is personal information?

‘Personal information’ is information about a living person that can identify that individual. Information about deceased individuals is not covered under the Data Protection Act.

If you want to know whether we hold any information about you, and what that information is, you can send us a letter, fax or e-mail including:

• Your full name
• Your full address
• The date
• A detailed explanation of what information you require
• Any other information you think would be useful in identifying you (for example: if you used to work for LCC and are requesting personnel files, it may be useful to let us know when you worked for us and how long for)
• original evidence to confirm your identity e.g.:

Proof of identity is essential for us to be able to process your request. Photocopies cannot be accepted. Once entitlement has been established we will take a copy of the documents you have supplied to us and will return the originals to you. This is to maintain the security of the information we hold about you and will help to ensure that we do not release your personal information to anybody else.

Alternatively, you could fill in one of our Subject Access Request forms. This is available as a printable version (a pdf file) which you can print off and fill in by hand.

Can I obtain all information held about me by the Council?

Providing the information you have requested is not covered by one the exemptions under the Act, we will provide it to you.

If we are unable to release the information for some reason, we will contact you to advise you of this as soon as possible. If this is the case we will also provide you with a full explanation of why you cannot access the data: Details of Exemptions.

Charges for Data Protection requests are made at LCC's discretion. We will advise you upon receipt of your request if a fee is payable. Providing you have given us all the information we need to locate the information you have requested, we will reply as promptly as possible, and in any event, within 40 days. You will receive:

If you believe we may be holding information about you which is incorrect, you can write to us telling us what is wrong with the data and how we can correct it. There is no particular wording you need to use as long as you include:

1. Your identity
2. The personal data which needs amending/destroying
3. What should be done to correct the personal data

The Information Commissioner’s Office advises that you send any requests for information by recorded delivery, and that you keep a copy of the letter and any further correspondence.

A list of questions and answers which you may find useful is available by following the link below:

You may find it interesting to see what will happen to your request once it is received by LCC. If you would like to see the processes that we will use to find and provide the information you have requested, we are in the process of producing a flowchart, a link to which will appear on this page shortly.

Access Problems:

It can be arranged for any information to be made available in large type and other formats upon request. We can also arrange to have documents translated for you if English is not your first language.

LCC are continuously trying to improve the services we provide to the public. We would therefore appreciate it if you would take the time to complete the feedback form in order that we can make any necessary improvements to the website. You can also use this form to let us know about any other questions and answers you think should go on our Data Protection pages. You may remain anonymous if you prefer.

If, for any reason, you are not satisfied with the way LCC deals with a request you make, you can complain to the following address: