Guidance on making a Subject Access or Individual Rights Request

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Adoption information

If you want information about an adoption, please contact the Adoptions Team directly and provide as much information as you can, for example: names, place of adoption, dates, addresses.

Police Information

We are unable to share information provided to us by the Police. Police forces have their own procedures for handling Subject Access Requests under data protection legislation. For more information on how to make a request, please visit the website of the relevant Police force or contact their data protection team.

What we need from you

If your request relates to your information, please provide copies of the following:

A. Your current photo identification (e.g. passport or driver’s licence).

B. Confirmation of your current address (e.g. utility bill or bank statement dated within the last 3 months).

C. If you have changed your name since birth - change of name documentation confirming your previous and current name. This is especially important if you are requesting historic records from childhood.

If you are requesting information on behalf of a child under 18 for whom you currently have parental responsibility:

The right of access to personal data belongs to the child, not the parent.

A person with current parental responsibility may make a request on behalf of a child where the child is unable to understand their right to request their information or has asked another person (e.g. parent, guardian, a child advocacy service, charity or solicitor) to make the request on their behalf.

Where the child is mature enough to understand their right to request their information and the consequences of authorising someone to act on their behalf, (generally age 12 and above, although for some children this will be younger), we will need to obtain the child’s written confirmation that they have authorised you to make the request on their behalf before disclosing their personal data to you.

In all cases, the child’s best interests will be a primary consideration. Further information can be found on the ICO website

In addition to A-C above, please provide:

1. Full name and date of birth of the child on whose behalf you are requesting their information.

2. Confirmation of your current authority to apply on their behalf:

· Copy full birth certificate naming you as their parent.

· Parental Responsibility Order.

· Adoption Order.

· Residence Order.

· Special Guardianship Order granted by the Court.

· Parental Responsibility Agreement.

3. Written confirmation of the child’s current address.

4. A signed and dated letter from the child if they are 12 years or older, (although for some children we may ask for this when they are younger if they are mature enough to understand their right to request their information and the consequences of authorising you to act on their behalf ), giving you permission to request and receive their data on their behalf.

5. If the child on whose behalf you are applying is 12 years old or over and does not have mental capacity, please provide evidence of lack of capacity.

6. Confirmation of whether the child has been, or currently is receiving social care, foster care, care from an adoption agency, or is an adopted child. **

**Please provide as much information as you can, including dates, names of workers (including carers, if applicable) and any addresses at the time East Sussex County Council was involved in their care.

7. Where the child has been, or currently is receiving social care, foster care, care from an adoption agency, or is an adopted child please provide written consent from any of these parties with parental responsibility to you making a request on the child’s behalf, even if you have parental responsibility for the data subject.

Please note, providing these documents does not provide you with an automatic right to receive the personal information of another person.

We will review the information you provide, to help us decide whether further information is needed and what, if any, information you are entitled to receive on the child’s behalf.

If you are requesting information on behalf of an adult:

In addition to A-C above for you as a representative, please provide:

1. Items A-C above for the adult whose information you are requesting.

2. Confirmation of your current authority to apply on their behalf:

· Lasting Power of Attorney

· Enduring Power of Attorney

· Court-appointed Deputyship

3. Where necessary, written consent to release the documents to you, even if you have responsibility for the data subject

4. Where necessary, if the adult on whose behalf you are applying does not have mental capacity, provide evidence of lack of capacity.

Please note, providing these documents does not provide you with an automatic right to receive the personal information of another person.

We will review the information you provide, to help us decide whether further information is needed and what, if any, information you are entitled to receive on the adult’s behalf.

Please note:

East Sussex County Council will only release information if we know the disclosure is justified, having balanced the person’s best interests against their right to privacy.
We don’t usually need to see original documents, but if you send originals, we ask you send these by recorded, special or registered delivery or bring them to County Hall, Lewes, by appointment only. East Sussex County Council is not liable for items lost in the post. East Sussex County Council will return originals by recorded delivery.
East Sussex County Council may ask to see original documents on request at any point during our search if it is reasonable to do so in the circumstances. We may need to see the documents you are providing before making a decision.
If you have any questions about the proof required, please contact Customer Services on 01273 482913

What we need to know from you

Please give as much detail as possible about the information that you would like to help with our searches and so we can respond to you as quickly as possible.

This may include:

the dates of the information. This may also help us to find where the information is stored
which departments and teams you have had contact with during these dates
the names of staff who have worked with you
any reference numbers you have
telling us about documents you think we hold
if you are requesting someone else’s information, please confirm what your relationship is to them
please tell us if you have had any previous names
if you are requesting historical information then provide as many details as possible; for example, previous addresses you lived at with dates.
please tell us if your request relates to your employment at East Sussex County Council.

In addition to the above list, for requests to Children’s Services, please tell us if:

you, or anyone’s information you are requesting, are currently receiving social care
you, or anyone’s information you are requesting, were receiving social care
you, or anyone’s information you are requesting, were a former looked-after child, child in care or fostered child
you, or anyone’s information you are requesting, were adopted
were your or their parents adopted?
please provide as much information as you can, including dates, names of workers (including carers, if applicable) and any addresses at the time East Sussex County Council was involved in your care.
please provide the names and dates of birth of your parents and siblings, if known.

How to submit your request

Follow the instructions below to submit your request online or email us at inforequests-icw@eastsussex.gov.uk with your request and attach the documents.
You can write to us with your request and documents at: Information Governance Officer, W1D, County Hall, St Anne’s Crescent, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1UE.
If you want to speak to us in person, please call to arrange a meeting on 01273 482913.

How to complete and submit the online form

You can submit your request via our online form. Your documents should be uploaded with your webform. Please note that the form times out after 30 minutes. We recommend saving the details of your request elsewhere and pasting them into the form when it is completed.

Image of subject access form — Subject access request

Please select ‘Your involvement'. This confirms whether you are the data subject or whether you are representing someone. If you are requesting both yours and someone else’s information, please choose ‘I represent someone else’.

If you select ‘Multiple Departments’ where it asks for the Type of Information, please list them in the text box along with details of your request (See the ‘What we need to know from you section’ above).

If you are requesting more than one person’s information, please specify the number of people on the next page. Please include yourself in this number if you are requesting yours and other people’s information.

Please complete your personal details as requested, then fill out the details for each other person (if applicable), clicking ‘Next’ to move on. You will be able to review the information before submitting the webform. You can edit each section before clicking 'Submit' at the top of the form.