You have a right to ask for your information

 

They are your records. It’s your right to ask for your information.  

This guide will give you information on how to: 

• make a request for your care records;
• understand what to expect; and
• know where to go if you have concerns.  

We’ve written it for people with care experience after we heard about the challenges they have faced accessing their information. We hope this information supports you to request your information more confidently. 

Asking an organisation for a copy of your personal information is known as a right of access request, often called a subject access request or SAR. This guide explains the key points you need to know about making a SAR.

You should begin by identifying the organisation who holds your care records

This is usually the:

• local authority or Northern Ireland health and social care trust;
• voluntary organisation that looked after you; or
• place where you left care. 

They should be able to confirm if they have any records about you. They may also be able to help you find out if any other organisations have your records. There is detailed information about how you can attempt to find your records on: 

• England and Wales: the FamilyConnect website;
• Scotland: the National Records for Scotland; and
• Northern Ireland: the NI Direct website. 

You can make a request in different ways

Our SAR service can create an email request for you once you’ve entered some key information. You can also make your request in writing by email or letter, or verbally in person or over the phone. If you make a verbal request, keep a note of when you asked and who you made the request to. 

You can ask for specific information

You have the right to a copy of your information. You can ask for all the information an organisation holds about you. Or you can ask for just some information, such as:

• an event; 
• a time period; or
• a specific situation.

Being specific can help the organisation find the information and provide it to you more quickly. You can still go back and ask for more information in the future.

You can ask someone else to make your request

A trusted friend, relative, or advocate can make the request on your behalf. The organisation will need to be sure that this person has your consent to make the request for you. This consent could be your signed written permission.

You have the right to your records no matter how old you are

Some people ask for their records during their time in care, some just as they leave, while others ask for them when they’ve been out of care for decades. You don’t need to wait until you’re 18. If you’re under 18, the organisation that holds your records will have to consider whether you’re mature enough to understand your rights and make the request directly. In Scotland, this is generally considered to be 12 years or over. There is no set age in other parts of the UK but 12 years old is considered a good guide.

You’ll be asked to confirm your identity

Before providing you with your records, the organisation must make sure that they’re disclosing them to the right person, so they’ll need to check your identity. They should always be proportionate and reasonable in what they ask for. We know that some people don’t have formal ID, such as a passport or driving licence. In this case, the organisation can offer you an alternative way to confirm your identity, such as asking you questions that only you would know the answer to. Or they might ask a professional to confirm your identity, such as a social worker.

You can expect your records within one to three months

You should receive your records within one month of your request, or within three months if your request is ‘complex’. Complex records might have a large volume of sensitive information about you which they need to review before responding. They must tell you within one month if they require the extra two months. We also expect them to keep you updated on progress, unless you tell them you don’t want them to. If they haven’t given you a response after this time, you can complain to the organisation.

You can let the organisation know how and when you would like to receive your records

Care records can sometimes contain hundreds or even thousands of pages. We understand that receiving them all at once, or without warning, can be distressing. If you have a preference about when you’d like to receive your records, let the organisation know. They may be able to work with you to find a time and date that works best for you. If you make a request for your records electronically (eg by email or social media), the organisation must provide you with your information electronically. However, you can make a request to receive your records in your preferred format. If your request is reasonable, the organisation should provide them to you in that format. You can also ask for reasonable adjustments, where required.

You may not be provided with some information

The records you receive may have sections missing or words blocked out. These records are ‘redacted’. This is where the organisation has not included some information in your record because it’s protected under an exemption. There are two that are particularly relevant to care records:

• Information about other people: Your records may contain information about your friends, family, or other people. The law requires organisations to balance your right to access with other people’s right to privacy. This may mean that you see redactions because information about other people has been removed. Sometimes, information about other people can be left in. For example, if that information is already known to you or those people have consented for it to be disclosed. You may also receive information about staff who worked with you, such as social workers or teachers.
• Information that could cause serious harm: The organisation is required to take out any social work or health information that would be likely to cause serious harm to your mental or physical health, or that of anyone else.  

You can talk to the organisation

We expect organisations to have a way for you to get in touch with them, whether by phone, email, or in person. This is so you can discuss your request or ask any questions about the process or the information you’ve received.

You can complain if you have concerns about how an organisation has handled your request or your information

If you have concerns, you should raise the issue with them first. This gives them the chance to resolve your concern. We provide a template and guidance to help you make a complaint.  

If you still have concerns after they respond, or they don’t provide a response within one month, you can complain to us. Making your complaint to us early makes it easier for us to follow up, but we understand you may not feel able to complain to us straight away. We consider all complaints. Although we’re not able to follow up and take action on every complaint, they are all valuable to us. They allow us to spot trends, address failings in how organisations are responding to requests for information and check whether they are following our better records together standards. 

You may discover that in some cases your records have been lost, destroyed, or damaged

This might be due to:

• historic practice and legislation: The law has changed over time. Legal requirements that exist today requiring organisations to keep copies of your care records have not always been in place. If you were in care before laws changed in the 1980s, there is a chance that there may be limited, or no records held or kept about you; or
• environmental or natural disasters: Sometimes records are damaged or destroyed in unexpected events, such as floods or fires. 

It can be devastating to hear that your records have been lost, destroyed, or damaged. You can still ask the organisation who held your records if they have any information about why and how this may have happened. You can ask whether other organisations have copies of your records, such as:

• health bodies;
• schools or education services;
• residential or group homes;
• the police; or
• court services. 

You will not receive certain information through a SAR

This includes:

• records of deceased family members, relatives or friends: Data protection laws only apply to living people. So, you can’t make a SAR to get information about someone who has died. You may want to seek advice from the organisation or a support group about this;
• adoption files: You can’t make a SAR for adoption records as there is a different process for this. This process depends on when you were adopted. Speak to your local authority, health and social care trust or advocate for more information. If you know who your adoption agency were then you can contact them; and
• records held by other organisations: You’ll only receive information held by the organisation that you’ve asked. If this is a local authority, you may not receive any records held by the NHS, police or other organisations.