Dear All,
I realize that this is an old question, but I wanted to revisit it. I checked the
archives and there was some discussion on the issue.
I was trying to determine how much can be charged for photocopying in
response to an SAR. I noted that there was some discussion, in 2006, about
unstructured personal information being liable to a charge. However, I also
recall, but I cannot find it on the web, a more recent Statutory Instrument
clarifying the FOI/DP appropriate limits and fees. In that more recent SI, post
2006, it did not mention the distinction between unstructured and structured
information.
What is adding to the confusion is that recent telephone calls to the ICO,
suggested that it was £10 and no charge for photocopying. However, this
goes against what is in their guidance. I am not trying to catch out the ICO
but to find out what I need to be doing to make sure that we are charging
appropriately
From Final Version 1.2 Freedom of Information Awareness Guidance No 1
"The usual subject access fee under the Data Protection Act is £10.
(Exceptions are a fee of up to £50 for medical records and a sliding scale for
school pupil records.) However, where the request is for unstructured personal
information, charges can be made in accordance with the Freedom of
Information rules. These will be set out in regulations." (Page 2 of the
guidance)
http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/freedom_of_information/detail
ed_specialist_guides/awareness_guidance_1_-_personal_information.pdf
(This is not dated but appears to be before 2006 because a message in
archives makes reference to this language.)
If the guidance is the final word, then we can charge for photocopying where
there is unstructured personal information. For example, someone requests
copies of their timesheets for the past 5 years and these are not held
electronically nor are they in the person's file. They are in a timesheet file for
that service. My understanding is that it is structured chronologically so that
the files have to be searched to to find the person's time sheets.
However, other guidance from the ICO states a different message.
"If you want access to unstructured information, you will need to describe the
information you want so the authority can find it. Although the fee for access
to public authority information is £10, the authority can estimate the cost of
dealing with a request for unstructured information, and refuse the request if
the cost is more than £450 (or £600 if it is central government)."
http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/introductory/
subject_access_rights.pdf
(This is from July 2007)
The second guidance is suggesting that a fees limit exists in terms of
compliance but not for charging. For example, if the time taken to comply
with finding unstructured data is more than £600 then the organisation can
refuse to comply. However, this is not saying, from what I can understand,
that the authority can charge for the information or for photocopying it.
In sum, two questions:
£10 for SAR and no photocopying fees for unstructured data
or
£10 for SAR and photocopying fees for unstructurd data in accordance with
the FOI schedule of fees
or
£10 for SAR and charges for photocopying regardless of structured or
unstructured data.
and
Is data held in a manual file that is only structured by date (chronological)
defined as unstructured personal information?
What is the most recent Statutory Instrument setting this out as the
regulations?
Best,
Lawrence
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