- “One old battered brown box was my life story of residential care – that was all I was worth.”
- Survey reveals nine in 10 people left with questions or concerns after receiving their care records.
- ICO launches ‘Better Records Together’ campaign with new resources to support both people with care experience and the organisations handling their records.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has called for further improvements across local authorities in Scotland after warning that many people trying to access their own care records are being let down.
Research from the ICO found that people are facing systemic and demoralising challenges when it comes to their care records.
- Over two thirds (71%) of people struggled with poor communication from the local authority and 69% said the process took longer than expected – with one person still waiting sixteen years later.
- When care records were received, over half (59%) did not receive enough information and nearly nine in 10 (87%) were left with questions or concerns.
John Edwards, Information Commissioner, said: “This is so much more than a request for personal information. These are people fighting to access their own biography – their own identity – that is in the custody of an organisation.
“It is a brave and emotional step, especially from people who have already been let down by the care system in Scotland. But these requests are too often met with cold bureaucracy, long delays and pages of unexplained redactions, which can have devastating consequences.
“This current picture is unacceptable – but there are many people who play a role in creating better records and better access. As the data protection regulator, we can bring clarity to how these roles work together to thread people’s stories.
“We can build a clear pathway by ensuring everyone has the tools they need – equipping organisations with the certainty and skills to handle requests with care and compassion, and empowering people with the confidence and support to advocate for their own rights.
“Real change must come from the top – so today I am calling on local authority leaders across Scotland to take action. We know frontline staff want to get this right but are struggling with lack of resource and guidance. Improving this process starts at the beginning – when a child enters the care system, their information should be recorded with their rights in mind, knowing that they may request it later. This will reduce the administrative burden and keep the person at the very heart of the process, so future generations do not face the same struggle.”
Jackie McCartney, care experienced campaigner and Ambassador for the Rees Foundation, said: “I can remember the social worker arriving with my care records – she carried one old battered brown box. That was all I was worth. That box was my life story of residential care, with sixteen years of my life inside.
“She told me not to worry – ‘there’s not a lot in there’ – but I wanted to talk to her. Because this total stranger knew more about my life than I did. She had read my story before I had, and decided what I could or could not see. These were my puzzle pieces of how and why I had become a child in care.
“I opened my box and looked inside. I can still feel the pain and disappointment. My records were not even in date order, with whole years of my life missing and no medical records. There were so many blank pages with nothing on, and so much information redacted.
“The whole process must have more compassion and care. I want organisations to see this is more than data, files and words on a page – this is real people’s lives and stories.”
John-george Nicholson said: “We understand who we are through stories. The ones we tell ourselves and the ones others think and write about us. Growing up in care, the state became my storyteller, taking on the role most people’s families play. My files hold many of those stories, yet for years they seemed to forget who I was.
“I first accessed my records at 22 – 126 pages. Almost 25 years later, I asked again and received more than 800. They are tough and often traumatic to read (when I first received them in the post, they came without warning), but they are also a kind of treasure chest: fragments of memory, windows into a past I’d tried to forget. At first, they broke me. But over time, they became maps, continually changing as I age – helping me understand, make sense of the damage, navigate the past and future, and see that it wasn’t my fault. I was just a kid in a broken system.
“But the system is still broken, and record-keeping is a critical element of this – our storytelling. Too often the whole child is lost in forms and reports, their voice minimised or unheard. That has to change. Every child in care deserves records that see them, protect them, and help them heal and thrive.”
Better Records Together
The ICO has launched its ‘Better Records Together’ campaign by publishing a suite of practical resources to help tackle the current issues. The campaign includes:
- new standards for organisations providing clarity on how to handle requests with care, as well as good practice measures to better support people from the moment they enter the care system.
- clear advice for people requesting their records to help them to navigate the process and access support.
- UK-wide supervision pilot running across 2025/26, monitoring the performance of 19 organisations to drive improvements.
In a letter sent to senior leaders, the Information Commissioner has made clear that if improvements are not made, organisations may face regulatory action.
The ICO has been proactively engaging with all 32 local authorities in Scotland after receiving complaints of long delays when care records were requested. Many local authorities have seen increases in requests over the last few years in relation to Scotland’s Redress Scheme, where people who suffered abuse while in care can apply for redress using supporting documents such as care records.
Some improvements have already been made across many local authorities in Scotland following the ICO’s engagement, but these must be sustained and further improvements made.
Earlier this year, the ICO reprimand both Glasgow City Council and City of Edinburgh Council for repeatedly failing to respond within the legal timeframe. It also fined Scottish charity Birthlink £18,000 after it destroyed thousands of records, including handwritten letters and photographs.
Support for the campaign
The regulator is working with charities, advocacy groups and other third parties to ensure their support reaches those who need them most.
Nicola Killean, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, said: “The Information Commissioner’s Office’s campaign to support improved access to records by people with care experience is an important one. It is vital that children with care experience have access to their own records, in a way that is straightforward and easy for them to navigate.
“Children who have care experience have the same rights as every other child under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), but they also have extra safeguards. If a child can’t live with their family, this includes having the right to special protection and help.
“Care experienced children and young people have been clear over many years about the importance of proper recording of their time in care. It can help them come to terms with their experience, understand why decisions may have been made, and give them a sense of agency over their own lives. It supports children’s rights to identity, rights to a fair hearing and due process, and rights to respect for private and family life.”
Flora Henderson, Director, In Care Survivors Alliance, said: “In Care Survivors Alliance is heartened to see the publication of Information Commissioner’s Office latest guidance around care records.
This work is vital work in ensuring that people who are care experienced can access their records in a timely, supported and transparent way. We are aware how difficult information access requests can be for individuals, especially when lack of support can create a significant negative impact.
“As such, ICO’s guidance is of considerable value. We encourage all those who hold, create or respond to requests for care records to join the collective effort in empowering people to exercise their rights and access their records.”
Mary Glasgow, Chief Executive, Children First, said: “Children First supports the ‘Better Records Together’ campaign because people must be able to understand their past in a way that feels meaningful.
“For many care experienced people records are the only way to fill the gaps in their history and make sense of who they are. That’s why we prioritise recording children and families’ hopes and dreams, as well as meetings and support.
“We make sure that our historical records are as easy to access as possible. Records aren’t just paperwork, they are the threads that weave together the story of your life.”
A spokesperson for Who Cares? Scotland, said: “We welcome the Better Records Together project and are excited for the improvements to accessing records for Care Experienced people it will bring.
“We often hear from our members about the difficult and sometimes traumatic experience it can be to get access to their records and then read them. That’s why we’re proud to support the Information Commissioner’s Office with this new phase of their project.”
Visit the ICO’s Better Records Together webpage to access the resources and find out more about its work to support both people with care experience and the organisations that handle their records.
