Subject Access Request
Data Protection Act 2018 – Right to Access Personal Information
Subject Access – Guidance for the Applicants.
At a glance
Individuals have the right to access their personal data and supplementary information, this right is known as Subject Access.
The right of access allows individuals to be aware of and verify the lawfulness of the processing of any data held about them.
In brief
What information is an individual entitled to under the Data Protection Act 2018 (subsequently referred to as the Act)? Under the Act, individuals will have the right to obtain:
Confirmation that their data is being processed;
access to their personal data; and
other supplementary information – this largely corresponds to the information that is provided in the relevant privacy notice.
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Services (LFRS) Privacy Notices are available below.
What is the purpose of the right of access under the Act?
The Act clarifies that the reason for allowing individuals to access their personal data is so that they are aware of and can verify the lawfulness of the processing.
Is there a fee for dealing with a Subject Access Request?
Information must be provided free of charge. However, LFRS maintain the right to charge a ‘reasonable fee’ when a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, particularly if it is repetitive.
If you are a solicitors, insurance company, fire investigators, forensics, loss adjusters or commercial enterprises who is acting on behalf of an owner/occupier, or directly involved individual, you can apply for a copy of the incident report as follows:
For a request to be valid, the following criteria must be met:
An Incident Report Request Form must be completed and submitted by post or email.
Upon receipt of a completed Report Request Form, payment of £132.00 (which includes VAT) is required in advance for us to process this request. This charge relates to the cost of producing the relevant incident report. BACS details will be sent, and once payment has been received, we will then release the incident report in due course within 40 working days.
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service aims to release Fire Reports within 40 working days of receiving a valid request.
How quickly with the information by provided?
Information must be provided without delay and at the latest within one month of receipt.
LFRS will be able to extend the period of compliance by a further two months where requests are complex or numerous. If this is the case, we must inform you within one month of the receipt of the request and explain why the extension is necessary.
Please note: Fire Reports by their very nature can be complex and require Quality Assurance to ensure their accuracy. LFRS may on occasions use the above mentioned extension for this purpose.
What if the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive?
Where requests are manifestly unfounded or excessive, in particular because they are repetitive, LFRS can:
If LFRS makes the decision to refuse to respond to a request, we must explain why, informing the applicant of their right to complain to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and to a judicial remedy without undue delay and at the latest within one month.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Telephone: 08456 306060 or 01625 545745
www.ico.gov.uk
What is required of the Applicant?
LFRS must verify the identity of the person making the request, using ‘reasonable means’. As such the Applicant will be asked to provide relevant forms of identification.
How will the information by provided?
If the request is made electronically, we will endeavour to provide the information in a commonly used electronic format.
Alternately we will provide the requested information in hard copy.
Requests for large amounts of personal data.
Where LFRS processes a large quantity of information about an individual, the Act permits us to ask the individual to specify the information the request relates to.
The Data Protection Act 2018 does not include an exemption for requests that relate to large amounts of data, but LFRS may consider whether the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.
How to apply for a copy of your personal data.
LFRS have created a form which can be used to aid you in requesting data from us, and to assist us in finding the relevant data.
We have also created a guidance document to help you fill in the form.