Paul
The Data Protection Act applies only to information about identifiable
living individuals. Earlier files are unlikely to be covered therefore -
assume employment starts at, say, age 16, and calculate from there.
However, even if the files are about living individuals, that does not
necessarily mean you cannot provide access to them, or to part of them.
There is no absolute bar on 3rd party access in the DP Act. What it requires
is for access to be fair and lawful. The FOI Act, s 40, refers back to the
DP Act and makes specific reference to the data protection principles set
out in Schedule I to that Act. You need to look at the contents of the
files, and their age, and consider the likely effect of disclosure, in order
to decide whether putting them in the public domain is fair to the subject
of the information.
It is possible some information might have been provided in confidence, and
you will need to consider also whether the FOI exemption at s41 applies.
I suggest you look at the guidance on applying these exemptions produced by
DCA - here is a link to the page at which you can find both exemption
guidance and useful procedural guidance:
http://www.foi.gov.uk/guidance/index.htm
Susan Healy
The National Archives
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: Archivists, conservators and records managers.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 15 December 2004 11:57
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Staff files and Data Protection
Hello all,
A Question!
We have staff files dating back almost 100 years, and in recent weeks
we've had relatives asking to see files of deceased relations. I wonder
then whether the Data Protection Act imposes any restrictions on these? or
are they something that we should be setting internal policies for?
Any help would be appreciated, feel free to reply off list.
thank you.
Paul Lilley
Heritage Archivist
EMI Archive Trust
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