Do you want access to personal information held about you?
This right of subject access means that you can make a request under the Data Protection Act to any organisation processing your personal data. You can ask the organisation you think is holding, using or sharing the personal information you want, to supply you with copies of both paper and computer records and related information.
Organisations may charge a fee of up to £10 (£2 if it is a request to a credit reference agency for information about your financial standing only). There are special rules that apply to fees for paper based health records (the maximum fee is currently £50) and education records (a sliding scale from £1 to £50 depending on the number of pages provided).
However, it is important to remember that not all personal information is covered and there are ‘exemptions’ within the act which may allow an organisation to refuse to comply with your subject access request in certain circumstances.
