Section 8 of the Act says that "where any of the information ... is
expressed in terms which are not intelligible without explanation the copy
[of the information] must be accompanied by an explanation of those terms".
This is clearly not a blanket requirement to make the information
intelligible to the recipient - which could involve all kinds of translation
and explanation.
The Freedom of Information Act allows the applicant to specify a preference
for how the results of their enquiry are communicated to them (and of course
allows for the costs of communication to be charged to the applicant), but
the Data Protection Act doesn't. It turns things around by allowing the
Data Controller leeway to provide access other than by a copy if the Data
Subject agrees, or if a copy is not possible.
However, DPA entitles the Data Subject to a copy of the information, not a
copy of the documents or other media specifically. So a change of format is
certainly permissible. You would have to look at the Disability
Discrimination Act to see whether the provision of the information in a
variety of formats was a reasonable adjustment. I can see a stronger case
under FoI, but possibly also under the DPA.
Paul Ticher
0116 273 8191
22 Stoughton Drive North, Leicester LE5 5UB
I hereby require any recipient of this message not to use my personal data
for direct marketing purposes.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brenda Scourfield" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 8:48 AM
Subject: Format of data
If the datasubject making the SAR is blind or partially sighted, has
learning
disabilities for example, are you bound to supply their data in a format
they
can read ? I seem to remember reading something about this in the past but
cannot find it at the moment. Thanks for any guidance.
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