- Reprimands issued to Glasgow City Council and City of Edinburgh Council for failing to respond to requests for personal information on time
- Action follows ICO engagement with local authorities across Scotland to improve right of access, including for people with care experience and those applying for redress after suffering abuse while in care
- “Those who were let down in the past are being let down again, this time by poor SAR compliance.”
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is taking action to tackle significant delays for people who are trying to access copies of their personal information held by local authorities across Scotland.
Under data protection law, people have the right to ask an organisation if it holds their personal information and receive a copy of any personal information held within a month, unless an extension is applied – this is known as a subject access request (SAR).
The regulator has now reprimanded both Glasgow City Council and City of Edinburgh Council for repeatedly failing to respond to SARs within the legal timeframe, leading to a significant backlog of requests.
The reprimands follow the ICO’s proactive engagement with all 32 local authorities in Scotland after it became aware of delays in responses to SARs, amounting to years in some cases.
Many local authorities have seen an increase in SARs received, many in relation to the Redress Scotland scheme where people who suffered abuse while in care can apply for redress using supporting documents such as their care records.
Jenny Brotchie, Acting Head of Scottish Affairs at the ICO, said: “Those who were let down in the past are being let down again, this time by poor SAR compliance.
“We have heard how undue delays and lack of communication from local authorities can cause further distress for people, including those with care experience and those trying to claim redress in Scotland.
“Local authorities must get this right despite the rising numbers of requests, which is why we have been offering support and monitoring those with poor compliance until we are satisfied that improvements have been made.”
Following the ICO’s scrutiny and support to put action plans in place, many local authorities have significantly reduced their backlog of requests and improved their response times.
Despite a 67% overall increase in the total number of SARs to local authorities in Scotland between 2021 and 2024, 75% of local authorities improved their SAR compliance, with 13 local authorities reporting a compliance rate of 90% in 2023/24.
However, the regulator launched investigations into two local authorities, Glasgow City Council and City of Edinburgh Council, after it did not see any tangible improvements over 12 months.
The ICO’s recent compulsory audit of Glasgow City Council found that the council has good policies and procedures in place to handle SARs. However, lack of resource and budget remains an issue, with the council still unable to respond to many SARs within the legal timeframe.
Following its reprimand, City of Edinburgh Council has now reported some improvement in its response times.
Jenny Brotchie added: “While I’m pleased to see significant improvements from most of the local authorities that we engaged with, SAR compliance in Scotland remains a concern and we must ensure people can exercise their information rights effectively and without further harm.
“We expect all local authorities to have sufficient resources in place to handle the volume and complexity of SARs, and to keep people updated on the progress of their request.
“We are taking a proportionate approach to monitoring local authorities, but these reprimands show that we will not hesitate to take enforcement action where necessary.”
Looking forward, the ICO continues to engage with local authorities and other key stakeholders to drive further improvements and ensure that people can access their own personal information.
The ICO has committed to improving the support it provides to both people who grew up in the care system across the UK and the organisations that hold their information. It has been gathering evidence of the challenges facing both people and organisations when it comes to accessing care records and will share its findings and next steps over the coming months.
Read more detail about the ICO’s work with local authorities in Scotland here.
Find out more about your information rights here, including the right of access.